Art is
by xxxsaltinexxx
Summary: Essentially, Sasori and Deidara's adventures from the time Dei joins the Akatsuki XD SasoDei  Please read and review :3 Just a break from my usual angsty stuff XD
1. Prologue

After a prompt defeat thanks to Itachi's sharingan, Deidara was wise enough not to protest as the elder Akatsuki members led him into the base. His face burned thanks to the humiliation of losing so easily to a fool who had no appreciation for the arts. There must have been some reason that he hadn't won besides sheer skill. The Uchiha had to have cheated somehow.

There was no way true art could be defeated by a kekkai genkai.

As he was led through the base, Deidara tried to think of as many possibilities as he could. However, by the time he reached his new room, he could only come up with the Uchiha cheating. Not exactly a valid argument.

Unless, of course, he was trying to get himself mocked the first day here.

"This is going to be your new room," the leader said calmly. Without waiting for Deidara's response, he threw the door open to reveal a short redhead that looked no older than twenty. When the two stepped in, he didn't even bother to look up from his desk. "This is Sasori. He's been with the organization for over ten years, so I'm sure he'll be more than capable of teaching you the ropes."

"Over ten years? He doesn't look more than twenty, un," Deidara murmured, advancing towards his new partner to get a better look at him. "And he has poor taste in art, un. Are you sure this is a good idea, un?"

As soon as the last sentence came out, Sasori was on his feet, carving knife in hand. "Just because I haven't been on as many missions lately doesn't mean that I'd like to take up a baby sitting job in my spare time."

"Babysitting? You're barely even older than I am, un!"

Pein visibly grimaced as the two stood in front of each other, staring each other down. It didn't take a genius to realize that this was a mistake. Why did he think putting two artists together was going to be a good idea? He had seen the fight Deidara had with Itachi only hours ago. With the kid's arrogance, he wasn't going to last a week with Sasori.

"Barely older? I'm at least ten years your senior." Sasori paused for a moment and sighed before looking at his leader. "Pein, most of the time I respect your decision on these kinds of things, but this kid is-"

"Watch your mouth, un! I'm just as capable as anyone else here-"

"-so useless that even Itachi was laughing after that excuse for a fight. I'm just wondering why-"

"-of functioning as an S-ranked criminal. Besides, how old's this kid-"

"-I, after being in this organization for over a decade, have to be responsible for-"

"Both of you shut up!" The Akatsuki leader shouted, silencing the two criminals immediately. Sasori simply stared at his superior with a bored expression, while Deidara's eyes widened and he recoiled. Pein inhaled sharply before continuing. "Now listen…you two are working together, and at this point, I can't say I'm any happier about it than you are."

"Then why don't you-"

"Deidara, if you say another word, I'll kill you." The blond bit his lip, signaling that he was going to keep quiet. "I know it's going to take some…getting used to. However, if I hear _anything_ about you two trying to kill each other, so help me…"

Sasori nodded and smirked. "We understand, Pein."

"Leader," he murmured, correcting the puppeteer. "Don't set anything on fire while I'm in my office." As soon as he left the room, Deidara exhaled softly. That had to be one of the most terrifying things he had experienced in a while. Not the fact that he had threatened to kill the blonde; that was something he was used to by now.

It was that he could tell, just by that man's chakra, that he'd be able to. And for some reason, the dozens of piercings on the older male's face didn't comfort Deidara any.


	2. Chapter 1

_You're supposed to nurture him with love and patience._

Sasori groaned and slammed his hands down on his desk. Konan's words were so much easier said than done. You're not supposed to torment him on his first day here, she told him. It would be awful of you to do that. No one ever did that to you, she reminded him.

While that was true, the redhead was more than capable of getting used to the organization on his own. Love and compassion wasn't what most people looked for upon entering a group of merciless killers.

These two things were even harder to put into action when Deidara spent all of his time bickering with the puppeteer. How was he supposed to get any work done with the brat nagging at him? Surely a quick "Shut the hell up, brat" wouldn't do any harm. Besides, half of the time it didn't work anyway.

The door to Sasori's room opened, and he silently cursed to himself. He was almost done with his work, now was _not_ the time for the blond to come in and start bothering him.

"Sasori, un." And for a moment, he really thought that Deidara wasn't going to say anything. It took less than a day for him to figure out that the bomber couldn't keep his mouth shut, and no matter how much he wished it, the younger boy wasn't going to shut up.

The redhead sighed heavily before looking at his partner with as irritated as an expression as he could sum up. "Yes?" His patience was already grating away, and the kid had been in the room for less than a minute. Great.

"Pein wants to see you, un," he said casually, squeezing what was probably a lump of clay as he spoke. "Now, un."

"I figured."

"Un."

Before Deidara could say another word, the redhead was on his feet, rushing out of the room. Waste of time or not, this meeting was a perfect excuse to get away from his partner.

~~~

Three weeks into the organization, and Deidara had only gone out once to train. As soon as Pein had assigned their first mission, Sasori could have screamed. How did he expect the two to survive? The blond was so stupid that he had to doubt his fighting abilities. And now, with an extreme lack of necessary training, what was the puppeteer supposed to expect? Most of his partner's time was spent either arguing with him over art, or trying to pick a fight with Itachi. A fight that he always lost.

It was almost painful to admit, but Sasori could honestly say that he missed working with Orochimaru. Yes, he was much freakier than the redhead would have liked, but he could always be assured that their mission would be completed efficiently. As insane as he was, Orochimaru was one of the best members of the Akatsuki. Cold, heartless, and no hesitation.

Not an idiot that could barely keep himself alive. He watched carefully as his partner slipped another handful of clay into his bag. Was he taking into account how heavy that was going to be? Sasori almost said something, but kept his mouth shut. Having an argument this early wasn't appealing to him. All he could do was sit there and watch, slightly horrified by the brat's behavior.

How was he going to deal with him when they actually had to fight? His actions were not based around the good of the Akatsuki. Rather, he did whatever suited his fancy. Consequences meant nothing to him. That wouldn't do when they had to actually team up and fight.

Another handful of clay went into the bag, and Sasori sighed. At the noise, Deidara looked up for a brief moment before going back to his packing. "Listen, brat. Allw e have to do is get a scroll from one of the Sunagakure lords."

A frown twisted the blond's lips, but it disappeared as quickly as it had came. "I was paying attention, you know, un," he grumbled, zipping his bag shut.

"Then what's with all the firearms? This mission was intended to be carried out quietly," the puppeteer inquired. He probably had enough clay in there to reduce an entire town to rubble.

"I know, un," Deidara shot back, lifting the bag up and down as if he were weighing it.

"And how do you plan on being quiet with all those explosives?"

"How do you plan on being quiet when you can't keep from criticizing me, un?" the blond retorted, now scowling at his partner.

"Oh, that was intelligent."

"What the hell's your problem, un?"

"My problem is that you seem to be planning on a huge fight. Pein doesn't want us to cause a scene, you brat!" Sasori shouted, voice steadily growing louder.

"I'm not going to cause a scene, un!" the blond screamed back.

"You're incapable of keeping yourself quiet for more than a minute in the base, never mind during an actual mission!"

"You started shouting at me first, un!"

Sasori took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. This wasn't getting him anywhere. They had to leave soon, and he barely had his supplies packed. Granted all he needed was a vial or two of poison, and maybe a change of clothes, it wouldn't take too long. "Deidara," he began, trying his best to keep himself calm and collected. "I'm going to strongly suggest that you don't take many explosives with you."

"It takes half of this to make a single C3 bomb. What happens if we get caught in a huge fight, un?" the blond inquired, lowering his tone as well.

"We're not going to fight anyone, Deidara," Sasori muttered, opening his medicine cabinet to look at his poisons. He picked out the two strongest ones he could find and quickly stuffed them into a small bag.

"S-ranked criminals draw attention fast, un," Deidara stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "I'd be surprised if we went through this entire thing without any trouble."

"Clearly you've never been required to do something like this."

"And clearly, you seem to have forgotten that I've spent the past five years as an S-ranked criminal. Do you really think I'm incapable of carrying this child's play out, un?" he asked, only to laugh only moments later. Sasori expected him to stop afterwards, but rather, his laughter got higher.

_He sounds like he's going into hysterics,_ Sasori said to himself. The blond's laugh was shrill, almost like one that would resemble insanity. "Stop laughing."

It took a few minutes, but Deidara eventually complied with his partner's request. "You're even stupider than I thought you were, un," he taunted, smirking. The bomber was still struggling to contain himself, tugging at his hair and trying to cover his mouth so that he wouldn't burst out laughing again.

Sasori ignored the comment and sighed. _Patience is a virtue, Sasori. You remember your grandmother telling you that, right?_ But on the other hand, he was never big on tolerance or waiting. Especially waiting. "I assure you, I'll be the one laughing when you get yourself killed."

"Don't worry, old man. I ain't going anywhere for a long time, un."

~~

Sasori rolled his eyes as his partner for at least the hundredth time brushed a handful of hair out of his face. Now, it wasn't the action that bothered him. It was the fact that whenever the idiot did this, half of his hair would swing back and hit the puppeteer in the face. And when he was trying to focus as much of his attention on the landscape around them, it wasn't exactly favorable.

"Deidara, if you're going to keep doing that, at least have the decency to pull your hair up," the redhead finally grumbled.

"I don't need to, un," Deidara replied. "Besides, I don't like stuff in my hair."

Sasori sighed. "Evidently, you do. If you didn't, I highly doubt you'd be pulling hair out of your face so often." The blond said nothing, which only encouraged him to continue. "Please, for the love of all that's holy, just pull your hair back."

"I told you, I don't need to, un."

"And I told you that you need to."

"So, un?" Everything had to be a debate with this kid. Everything. Sasori grabbed a handful of Deidara's hair and pulled him backwards. The bomber let out a yelp and immediately latched onto his partner's wrists. "Let go, un." When Sasori refused to comply, he pulled backwards in an attempt to free himself. Rather than helping, it only made the puppeteer tighten his grip.

"Deidara, you're obnoxious. Just pull your hair back, and we won't need to argue," Sasori requested again. He tensed his arms up, hoping it would make his partner let go.

But rather than listen, he noticed a hint of hysteria on Deidara's face before the blond jerked backwards. Before he could catch himself, Sasori stumbled forward, but managed to keep his grip on the bomber's hair. "I said let go, un."

"Tie your hair back, you whelp. It'll take you two seconds."

"Stop touching me, un!" Deidara screeched. The redhead's eyes widened, and he didn't have time to anticipate what was going to happen next. Not even a moment later, the bomber pulled himself further back and swung around, sending Sasori flying across the dirt path. His back connected with a tree, completely knocking the breath out of his body.

Sasori could easily say, judging from his partner's physique, that he hadn't expected to be thrown so hard.

The puppeteer stumbled forward, his hand pressed firmly over his heart container. He inhaled deeply a few times before regaining his composure. But rather than the calm, emotionless look he had managed to maintain before, he looked back at the blond, furious. Deidara simply stood there, frantically trying to look anywhere but at his partner.

"Tell me, what made you think that-Hey, I'm talking to you, brat!" Halfway through Sasori's sentence, the bomber spun around on his heel and began walking towards their destination again. _Oh, like hell you're getting away from me._

The redhead rushed after Deidara, seizing him by the shoulders not even a moment later. He could feel his partner tense up, and ducked just in time to avoid being punched in the face. "I told you not to touch me, un. You didn't listen. End of story, un," he said quickly, removing the pair of hands from his shoulders. "I'd appreciate it if you'd listen to me, un."

"You threw me," Sasori stated flatly. He wasn't sure how this was going to help him during the argument, but it seemed like the right thing to say.

"And you wouldn't listen to me, un." The blond spat back, moving to turn around again. This time, Sasori stuck his foot out in front of his partner. The last thing he needed to worry about was his body getting damaged before they carried out the mission. "What, un?"

"How do you manage to function like this?"

Rather than give him some sort of snide remark, Deidara just shot him a puzzled look. "What do you mean, un?"

Sasori sighed and tried to rephrase the question. "How long has it been since someone's put a hand on you?"

"None of your business, un."

"Actually, considering that it just caused a huge problem, it is my business."

"Buzz off, un." Sasori pursed his lips together as Deidara continued to walk by him.

"Brat."

"Screw, un."


	3. Chapter 2

Deidara shuddered and rested his hands over where Sasori had touched him. Under the skin of his shoulders, it felt almost as if bugs were crawling around inside of him. Another shudder, and he wrapped his cloak tighter around his body. This was ridiculous. The redhead had shattered his composure without even trying.

Now he was definitely going to be regarded as a strong S-ranked criminal.

The blond began to chew on his lip. It was a habit he had developed as a child, but never got rid of. Sasori walked behind him, and judging from the lack of insults, he didn't notice anything was wrong. Good.

"We're just outside of Suna. If we're quiet enough, we can slip by the guards without any trouble," the puppeteer said calmly, adjusting his straw hat so it would hide his face. "Just make sure they don't see me, and I'm sure you'll be fine.

"Hm? What's the big deal, un?" Deidara asked, casually glancing behind him just in time to see Sasori shoot him a look of complete disbelief. "What, un?" he then said, frowning slightly. The bomber was trying harder to keep himself under control. It wasn't that he feared Sasori, it's just that he didn't want anyone's hands on him.

"You're kidding, right?" Sasori asked, and judging from his tone, he was hoping that the blond was kidding. When Deidara shook his head, his partner rose a brow. "Really?" He shook his head again. "This is where I grew up. I haven't exactly changed much in the past twenty years, so they're bound to recognize me."

Deidara frowned and thought for a minute before stopping. "How old are you, un?"

"Thirty something, I think. I haven't really kept track." The bomber's eyes widened, and he tried to regain a calm face before his partner noticed. Thirty something? He could have sworn that Sasori was twenty-five tops.

"Oh, un."

"After killing hundreds of people, I think I'm kind of hard to forget," Sasori replied, shrugging as if what he said was no big deal. For a brief moment, Deidara was actually worried. If he had taken hundreds of other lives, why was his any different? There was nothing stopping him from killing the blond. After all, they were hundreds of miles from the base. And on top of that, he was a criminal. No one would be there to help him.

~~

Deidara slumped against Sunagakure's border and watched as the guards began to question Sasori. He had gotten through fine, with no more than a passing glance. Despite being a criminal, only Iwa was informed of him. The kage didn't want anyone else to kill him for them. Something the blond was constantly using to his advantage.  
>"Hey, you're Akasuna no Sasori!" Deidara's head snapped up and he immediately began to walk back towards his partner. He was going to have to think fast on this one. "You've got some serious guts, trying to sneak back into this village after what-"<p>

"Excuse me, un?" Deidara said softly. The guard completely ignored him and took a swing at the redhead instead. "I said excuse me, un," the bomber repeated, this time much louder. This time, all eyes were on him.

"We're busy, kid. Leave us be," the guard said, not even bothering to let Deidara speak again. As he was about to turn his back on him, the blond cleared his throat loud enough to make the other man turn around again.

From behind him, Sasori was trying to use his eyes to shoo his partner off. Yes, Deidara saw it, but he didn't actually plan on acting out on it. He didn't know his way around this village, and the puppeteer was going to be his only means of getting around without raising too much suspicion.

"Well, I was just wondering why you were attacking my escort like that, un. He didn't do anything wrong, did he?" Deidara asked innocently, batting his eye lashes a few times to try and make himself look cuter. Oh, he could have gagged at this. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

"I'm sorry, but your 'escort' is under arrest," the guard growled before trying to turn around again. The bomber furrowed his brow. This was going to take more time than he would have liked.

"Why ever so, un?" He was given several puzzled looks, now both from the sunagakure guard and his partner. "My friend here...he was just leading me to the clinic, un. I have a condition that needs to be taken care of immediately, un."

"I'm sure. Well, we could have someone bring-"

"No, un! He's supposed to bring me. That's what the doctor said, un," Deidara insisted. Yeah, this wasn't good.

The guard shot him a flat look and slowly reached into his back pocket. "Oh?"

"I...I can show you, un." Quickly, the blond threw his hands forward and opened them. Deidara watched as the blade came out of the guard's pocket. However, it fell to the ground not even a moment later, when two tongues popped out and lapped at his fingers.

"Holy-"

Sasori was on his feet in less than a second, dragging Deidara by the collar of his cloak. "Now, I'm glad we had this talk. If you'll excuse me, I'll be bringing him to the clinic," he said quickly, making sure they were out of the guard's sight before anything else happened.

As soon as they were out of ear shot, Deidara smirked and removed the puppeteer's hand from his clothing. "Told you we'd get caught real easy, un."

"Yeah, yeah. I probably would have killed them anyway."

"Really? Because if I remember correctly, you explicitly told me that we weren't going to be fighting anyone." Sasori gave him a flat look before pushing ahead of the blond so he could lead him to the lord's house.

~~

Sliding a handful of clay into his extra mouth, Deidara was sure to make sure his partner didn't notice. The last thing he needed was to get chewed out. Again. He sighed and stuffed his hand into his pocket, continuing silently behind Sasori.

They had managed to get into the lord's house with no problem. All of the guards were either on break, or were doing a poor guard of manning their post. Either way, it was to their advantage. "Where's the scroll, un?" the blond whispered, low enough so that Sasori had to strain to hear him.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"It would be helpful, un..." he trailed off, shrugging casually. It wasn't like anyone here was going to be a real threat to them. With his bombs, and Sasori's..."art", they'd be fine. If anything, the redhead could just throw one of his puppets towards their attackers. If it looked enough like a real human, it could be used as a decoy to escape.

Assuming, of course, that they were trying not to get involved in a fight. If those rules ever disappeared, the bomber concluded that he would probably take great joy in blowing up whatever he could. "In his room, maybe?"

"That would be too obvious, un."

"Then where the hell do you want me to look, brat?" Sasori grumbled. It didn't take a genius to realize that he was getting stressed out. Having been stuck in this house for nearly a half an hour, they were running low on time. More than enough to make the redhead start feeling anxious. Usually, missions like this didn't take so long.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't have asked you, un," Deidara hissed.

"I'm checking his room."

"Why would he leave an important document, un?"

"Huh?" Sasori mumbled, only half paying attention to his partner. He had heard the words come out of Deidara's mouth, but they meant nothing to him.

"He must know the Akatsuki is after it. Don't you think he'd keep it on him all the time, un?"

"Not if he's leaving. What if he got attacked?"

"Well, why would the house be left unguarded, un?" When the redhead said nothing, Deidara could only smirk. _And you thought I would be horrible at this._

"Don't you two think you're a tad bit loud?" Not even a second later, the two spun around, hands on the first weapon they could reach. A tall, wealthy-looking man stood before them, looking no more than amused. "I'm not surprised that you managed to slip by my guards. The fools never do their jobs right."

"Oi, where is it?" Sasori inquired. He didn't need to waste his time here.

"Now, what makes you think that-" Before he could finish the sentence, Deidara lunged forward and barreled into the larger man. The two of them fell to the ground, giving Sasori the chance to pull out a weapon and point it at their victim.

Smirking, Deidara let his newly made bomb slide into his palm. "I'm going to make this really simple, un," he began, holding the piece of clay dangerously close to the man's face. "See this?" He nodded quickly. "Good, un. This work of art is what you people might call a bomb."

"You'd have to be a fool to-"

"Oh, I see, un. You're just like everyone else. You don't think this is going to hurt you, un?" He paused for a moment and pulled out another. "Do you want me to show you, un? I'll light this whole place up like a roman candle, un."

"Deidara, hurry up. I'm getting impatient," Sasori murmured. "Just stab him."

"But you told me not to kill him, un!"

Sasori shrugged. "That was when I wasn't waiting. Hurry."

"If you say so, un," Deidara said with a shrug. Casually, he forced the bomb into his victim's mouth before quickly jumping off of him and forming a hand sign. The lord tried to spit it out, but it was far too late for him to do anything. "Katsu."

The bomb went off, causing and what used to be the man's head splattered all over the floor and walls of his home. At the sight, Sasori could only gape for a moment before quickly regaining his composure and kneeling down next to his partner. Of all the things he had expected to happen, that was definitely _not_ one of them. He watched as Deidara fumbled through the corpse's jacket, grinning widely when he pulled out a small scroll.

"Is this it, un?" he asked, a slight hint of pride in his voice. Not only did he get to kill the victim, but he was right about the scroll. Today was a good day.

"Yeah," Sasori replied, quickly snatching it from his partner's hand and stuffing it to his cloak. "We better get going. That wasn't exactly the quietest assassination method you could have chosen."

"But it was so _cool_, un. Did you see the way his head exploded? I've never seen anything like that before, un," he gushed, sounding completely awe-struck. Had Sasori not spent years of his life turning corpses into puppets, he probably would have found this odd.

"That's great, but we have to go."

"Okay, un. I guess I don't have anything else to blow up, un."

Sasori rolled his eyes. This kid was really something else.


	4. Chapter 3

_Still too human,_ Sasori thought to himself, jamming his knife into what was soon going to be the face of a puppet. How could someone kill so mercilessly, and then feel bad about it? It wasn't as if Deidara had lacked any sort of rational thought when he murdered the Sunagakure lord. Instead, it seemed like he put more time into it, even going so far as to ask if he could really kill him. _You're still just a kid. A naive brat._

Yes, Deidara was insane. Yes, he had killed a man in cold blood. And yes, he laughed and practically went into hysterics after he saw how the man's head had exploded.

But even after what he saw, Sasori couldn't believe that the kid had been _that_ thrilled with the man's death. There was no doubt that the shrill laugh was real, followed by the awe-filled comments about how his head had blasted all over the floor. That wasn't what seemed to be off. It was afterward, when he handed the scroll to Sasori and looked back down.

For a brief moment, regret snuck onto Deidara's face. It stayed only for a split second, but it was long enough for Sasori to notice. Not only that, but the brat wouldn't speak a word to him on their way back to the base. Even if he wasn't particularly good company, that usually didn't keep him from trying to argue with the redhead.

Even after they returned from the base, he disappeared almost immediately. For almost a week after that, he did nothing but wander around outside, as far away from Sasori as he could get. Not that the puppeteer minded. He enjoyed the peace and quiet, and he got more work done that he had in the past month.

That is, until Konan came into his room looking stressed beyond belief. Before he could offer her a seat or anything, she was already sitting cross legged on his bed. "We need to talk."

"I figured," Sasori replied, moving his puppet to the side. "Pein ready to kill me since I turned in our report late?"

"Oh, please. He didn't even notice," Konan said, rolling her eyes. That was true. Pein never got around to reading the reports until months after the missions had been completed. "Where's Deidara?" She then asked, looking around the room. Judging from how she was doing it, Sasori knew that she didn't expect to find him.

The puppeteer shrugged casually before turning to go back to his work. "No idea."

"Sasori, no one's seen him for almost three days," Konan continued, brushing a strand of blue hair out of her face. So that's what she was in here to talk about.

"I haven't seen him either. He's been training outside for the past week." The kid was barely inside anymore, so Sasori didn't find it odd that he almost never saw him. He had just been assuming that Deidara was coming in after he left.

"Everyone thinks you killed him."

"That requires body disposal. I don't have time for that," Sasori murmured. Had it not been for that small factor, he would have snapped the blond's neck by now. And something told him that this whole situation wasn't going to make his feelings towards the brat any better.

Konan sighed and stood up. "Well, you're going to have to go and find him." She began to make her way towards the door when Sasori didn't respond. "And if he ran away, Pein's going to have your head." And with that, she strode from the room, just as cheerful as when she had entered.

The puppeteer couldn't exactly say this was a normal occurrence. Every single Akatsuki member (save for Deidara) had joined on their own will. How was it that no one thought that he might try to run away? Everyone had been letting the kid come and go as he pleased, as if he had chosen to join the group like the others. Not that Sasori wasn't to blame. He hadn't been paying attention to where the brat had been going.

Sasori threw on his cloak and ran out of the base. If he really had tried to escape, Deidara would be long gone by now. Even traveling by foot, a few days was plenty of time to reach another country.

"Deidara?" he called out, not surprised in the least when he didn't get a reply. The puppeteer called out again. Nothing. Great. He made his way into the woods, but couldn't find a sign of the bomber anywhere.

After about a half an hour of cursing and looking for the brat, Sasori found himself in the middle of a forest clearing miles away from the base. As soon as he found that kid, he was dead. Deidara was going to need one hell of a story to get himself out of this. "You little brat, where the hell are you?" Sasori screamed, a few choice words slipping from his lips as soon as he finished the sentence.

"What's up, un?"

"What the-" Sasori jumped and spun around. Where the hell was he?

"Stop screaming, un," Deidara mumbled, poking his head out from behind a tree. "Can you still hear me at the base? Pein told me to quiet down, too, un..."

Without giving the blond a chance to figure out what was going on, Sasori advanced towards his partner and seized him by the wrists. In one quick motion, he sent Deidara crashing into a tree, his back making a sickening snap when it connected. "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you, brat?" he hissed, fingers locking around his partner's throat.

Deidara gasped for breath, and his eyes widened as he began to panic. His hands clawed at Sasori's arm, but it did little good; there was no way that was going to break his grip. He was pulled forward before being slammed against the tree again. "What the hell's your problem, un?" he managed to choke out, now trying to push against the redhead's shoulders. Still nothing.

Deidara could feel himself begin to get lightheaded, and for a brief moment, his hands almost fell back to his side. "Where have you been?" Sasori hissed, slamming him against the tree once more. Thankfully, he released his grip, and settled on grabbing the front of the bomber's shirt.

"I was training, un!" the blond exclaimed. "Why, un?"

Sasori let out a frustrated growl and released the blond, who immediately shot across the forest clearing. He almost dove into the brush, but decided against it; he'd get caught in under a minute. "Everyone thinks I killed you, brat."

"I can't blame them, un," Deidara spat back, brushing his fingers over his neck. "I wasn't trying to run away, un," he then mumbled, looking away from the redhead.

At this, Sasori could only raise a brow. So the kid wasn't lying about moving further away to keep the noise level down? Oh, shit, he was going to get chewed out for this one. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" he shot back, frowning. How was it that just by standing there, Deidara had managed to piss him off?

"Pein asked me to, so I kind of figured I didn't need to un," Deidara whispered, still looking away. He was scared. Terrified, actually. Up until now, he thought he was just as strong as his partner. This was completely throwing him off. Was it that he just didn't expect Sasori to attack him?

The puppeteer sighed heavily. "You haven't been training." Deidara's eyes widened ever so slightly. What was that? "I'm not an idiot."

"Of course I have, un," the blond lied, smirking at his partner.

"Why is your chakra perfectly in tact, then?" To that, Deidara had no reply. Instead, he just stared at his partner with a look that resembled a deer caught in headlights. Even with taijutsu, he needed to expend at least a little bit of chakra. "Now, tell me what you've really been doing out here."

The blond said absolutely nothing, and just began to chew on his lip. Oh, Sasori was going to kill him. Why bother replying? Maybe he could keep some of his dignity and just die.

That plan was shot down as soon as the puppeteer took a step towards him. "I was just thinking, un."

"About?"

Deidara paused again. Why did he expect his partner to just disregard everything he said? This was the last thing he had expected Sasori to do. "Our mission, un."

"It was a week ago, what about it?" Sasori asked, probing even further into the younger teen's thoughts. He already knew what the brat was going to tell him. And he already knew what his reply was going to be. All he needed now was for the kid to just say it.

"I don't know..." he began, sighing heavily. "I can't stop thinking about the guy I killed..."

And that's what he was waiting for. "Deidara, I'm going to tell you something, and you better listen good," Sasori began, stepping even closer to his partner. "We're S-ranked criminals. And that being the case, I _know_ you've killed people before. If I were to guess, probably more than one."

"I know, un, but-"

"Let me finish. Now that you're in the Akatsuki, you're going to be killing people based on what Leader thinks, not what you think."

"Sasori, I-"

"I said let me finish. Anyway, you better get rid of these ridiculous thoughts of yours. You don't have time for regret. If you keep this up, there's no way you're going to survive around here."

~~

_It was one person, Deidara. You've killed dozens. What difference is he going to make?_

Said bomber looked at himself in the mirror, running his fingers through his damp hair. It had been at least two weeks since his short brawl with Sasori, and the marks on his neck had just began to fade. It wasn't until after their fight was over that he realized just how hard the redhead had grabbed him.

He reached for the doorknob, only to freeze. Retracting his hand, he looked back at the mirror and sighed. Sasori was still pissed at him. This wouldn't have been much of a problem if the puppeteer wasn't capable of killing him. Pursing his lips, Deidara stared at his reflection. What was he to do? _Oh!_

Deidara snapped his fingers and grinned before rummaging through his pocket. Not even a moment later, he pulled out a red ribbon. Having found it outside while he was training, it was probably the best he was going to do. He would have asked Konan to borrow one, but still had far too much dignity. He grabbed a handful of his hair and tied it above his head, just enough so that there was enough to keep over his left eye. He could barely see out of the blasted thing, so why let it show?

Even if it wasn't going to make Sasori any more fond of him, at least he could act like he was listening to the redhead. The comment about his hair had been made weeks ago, but he was sure it still bothered his partner.

Deidara gave his reflection a small, insincere smile before reaching for the door again. Like always, Sasori was sitting at his desk, working on his puppets. He didn't even bother to look up from his work, and instead continued connecting the joints of his creation together.

It wasn't until the bomber sat down on his bed and flipped open a book that Sasori seemed to notice him. "We have a mission next week."

Deidara looked up before going back to his book. "What's with the early warning, un?"

"It's going to take about three weeks," Sasori said. "Thought you'd like some time to pack."

"Thanks, un."

Neither of them said anything until Sasori began tapping his fingers on his desk. "One more thing..."

"Yeah, un?"

"It's two parts; First we're going to go the outskirts of Konoha, then Pein wants us to pay Iwa a visit."

The book fell from Deidara's hands and hit floor, losing his page number. Instead of reaching down to pick it up, he buried his head in his hands and groaned. Oh _hell_ no.


	5. Chapter 4

Pein slammed his hand down on his desk and glared at the two Akatsuki members. Was it necessary to have this talk with every single team he made? First was Itachi and Kisame, Sasori and Orochimaru, Hidan and Kakuzu, and now these two? The only ones who hadn't gotten into some sort of fight was Zetsu and Tobi, mostly because the masked boy was a complete idiot and did whatever his partner said.

He could already tell that neither of them were going to pay attention. Deidara was staring out the window, while Sasori was doing a bit better job of concealing his boredom and staring at the mounds of paperwork on the Akatsuki leader's desk.

"There has to be something wrong here. Why is it that _every. Single. Time._ I hear a crash in this place it's from you two?" The artists said nothing and continued to watch their leader. "Am I so incompetent that I can't even get the two of you to work together? I figured that since you were both...artists...you'd be able to get along."

"I'm not doing anything, un. Every time I open my mouth, he's at my throat, un!" Deidara exclaimed, rising to his feet.

Pein inwardly rolled his eyes. What had he done?

"At least I don't throw a hissy fit every time somebody puts a hand on me, you knave!" Sasori retorted. Instead of getting up, he tried to display a bit more maturity than his partner and kept himself seated with his hands folded. If it were not for the fact that Pein was in the room, he probably would have slugged the brat.

"You completely demolished two of my ribs, un!"

"Evidently it wasn't all that bad, since it took you three days to notice, brat," Sasori retorted. After their fight in the woods, Deidara had gone about his life as usual, completely unaware of the fact that bone fragments were floating around in his bloodstream. It wasn't until he began violently coughing up blood that he dragged himself over to the infirmary.

Not only did he get to have some fancy surgery done on him, but he landed their team a meeting with Pein about their "teamwork issues."

"I just didn't want to say anything, un. I'm not _that_ stupid, un."

"Why do I have trouble believing that?"

"Both of you shut _up_," Pein hissed through clenched teeth. Immediately, the two froze. "Thank you. Now listen...If I hear about you two fighting one more time, I'm going to kill both of you." Deidara opened his mouth to protest, but the two of them were dismissed before he could get any words out. He really didn't want to stick around to see if Pein was bluffing or not. "You might as well leave for your mission immediately. I really don't want to put up with you two." With his hand, he motioned for the two artists to leave him be.

As soon as the door to his office closed, Pein put another stack of paperwork on his desk. There was nothing some good, dull reading couldn't fix.

~~

Deidara looked at his bandaged torso in the mirror. Great, even after all of these years, his previous sensei was still right. He shook his head and chuckled softly. After leaving the village, he began to doubt everything the man had said to him. After all, what would an old fool know?

_"Get back here, you little freak!" Deidara ducked behind a ton of barrels, hoping it was enough to hide from his drunken father. "You better get your sorry ass out here," he threatened, voice getting much lower. He was furious with the stupid child. For the third time this week, he came into the bar trying to drag him out. Always whining about how his younger siblings were going to be worried and shit. What did it matter?_

_Between the pitch black sky and his father's inability to walk straight, he was almost positive that he wouldn't be found. However, it didn't stop him from being scared. This had never happened before. Usually, the blond's father would curse for a while before finally giving up and retiring to his room._

_"Deidara, come out, your father wants to see you." The sudden drop in tone surprised said boy. What was going on? Hadn't his father been infuriated only moments ago? Still wary of the whole situation, Deidara stepped out from his hiding place and stood in front of his father. "Come here, sweetie," his father cooed, motioning for the child to come closer._

_"Yes, father, un?" As soon as he was arm's length away, Deidara's father shot forward and grabbed the bomber. A shrill scream tore from his lips, and his father punched him in an attempt to silence him. Rather, it only made the child scream even more. His small frame was thrown to the ground, crushed not even moments later by his father's foot._

_"I ought to kill you for messing with me, brat," he growled, swiftly kicking the child in the face. As his whole face went numb, tears began to well up in Deidara's eyes. He tried to scramble to his feet, only to have his father grab a handful of his hair. "Isn't that precious...are you scared?" he asked, alcohol lingering on his breath. Not expecting a response, he struck his son across the face._

_"S-stop, u-un," Deidara whimpered, trying desperately to free himself._

_"Haven't you learned not to cry, you little freak?" He was struck across the face again, and this time, he turned back and spat in his father's face._

_As soon as his father began kicking him in the stomach, he regretted the decision. Before he could process what was going to happen next, something sharp swiped across his face, nicking his left eye in the process. In that one moment, everything seemed to stop. The only thing he could focus on was the pain from that one blow. His hand shot up to his face, covering his wounded eye. Deidara went to swing at him again, but this time, he rolled out of the way before he could make contact with the child's body. The bomber began fumbling through his pocket, relieved when he found that he had a few bombs left from training earlier. Without really thinking about what he was about to do, he threw the explosives forward and made a series of hand signs. "K-katsu, un," he whispered, completely unprepared for the blast that followed. His body was thrown across the street, skin now burning from the flames from the blast._

_He didn't want to look at what happened, nor did he want to see where his father was. Deidara tried to pick himself up to run, but only ended up collapsing to the ground, unconscious._

_When his eyes snapped open again, he found himself in the ever so familiar training grounds that Oonoki had set aside for him._

_Deidara moved to sit up, only to have his sensei's hand help him. "Oonoki, un?" he managed to get out, blinking a few times as he looked around. The vision in his left eye was extremely impaired. If it hadn't been fixed by now, it was damaged for good._

_"Deidara, what happened?"_

_It took the blond a moment to think about what he was going to say. A look of confusion crossed his face, but was immediately replaced by disgust. "I got into a fight with my dad. Oh, he's going to kill me, un," the bomber whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut upon this realization. While he was safe for now, he'd have to go home at some point._

_His sensei gave him a puzzled look. Did the kid really not know? "Your father's dead, Deidara."_

_The child's eyes widened "What, un?"_

_"The explosion killed him. An Anbu squad found his body blown to smithereens with you right by his side. They figured you had gotten caught in the middle of something." In a sense, that was true. But probably not in the way that the Anbu had assumed. "Why don't you tell me what really happened?" he asked gently._

_Deidara tried to mouth words, but nothing would come out. He wasn't sad, that was for sure. If anything, he was shocked. "I...was running after he got drunk. And then he acted like he was completely fine, and as soon as I came out, he attacked me."_

_Oonoki shook his head. He couldn't help but pity the poor child. "Deidara, I'm going to tell you something very important, all right?" Said boy nodded his head vigorously. Each word that came from his sensei's lips he clung to._

_"Yes, sir, un."_

_"Good. Now, not everyone's a good person, Deidara." The boy nodded once. Yeah, everybody knew that. "This is the important part; never let anyone lay a hand on you. Ever." Deidara tilted his head to the side. He didn't understand any of this. "The only time someone is going to try and touch you is if they want to cause you bodily harm. And after what happened last night, that's not a chance you can take."_

_The bomber nodded slowly. "I understand, sensei. Thank you for telling me that, un."_

The blond pulled his shirt back on and tossed another handful of explosives into his bag. He really needed to pull himself together before he got killed.

At this point, Deidara really didn't hate Sasori anymore. He had gotten past that. Now, he was just retaliating to make himself look strong. Showing weakness would only lead to his demise, and that wasn't something he could afford right now.

~~  
>Sasori strode into the kitchen, travel bag slung over his shoulder, to find Itachi and Kisame sitting at the dinner table with two cups of tea set in front of them.<p>

"How's the little terror doing?" Kisame asked, smirking at the puppeteer. By now, everyone knew that the two weren't getting along all that well. And not only did everyone know, but all of them were equally glad that they didn't have to put up with Deidara.

"Don't remind me," Sasori grumbled, burying his face in his arms. The brat was only half done packing, and he wasn't about to stick around and wait for him to finish. "I'm ready to tear my hair out."

Itachi took a sip of tea and grunted. "At least he doesn't have Hidan's mouth," he pointed out. The redhead nodded. Had the bomber began cursing at him that much during one of their fights, he probably would have killed him by now.

"He's easy to push around, too."

"He's too damn loud," Sasori murmured.

"You seem to put up with him well," Kisame complemented. "You've got a lot more patience with him than with Orochimaru."

The puppeteer scowled. "That's because he was insane."

"And Deidara's not?" Itachi murmured, taking another sip of tea. He had a point there. When Sasori didn't say anything in response, a smirk crossed the Uchiha's face for a moment before going back to his usual bored expression. "You beat the shit out of him, but you don't hate him, do you?"

Mercifully, he could hear the blond crashing through the hallways not even a second later. "Old man, time to go, un!" Deidara shouted, barging into the kitchen. He had a bag completely stuffed with explosives in one hand, and a large grin on his face.

"Speak of the devil..." Itachi murmured.

"All right, be back in a couple of weeks, then," Sasori murmured, picking up his own bag again before following his partner to the door. With one last glance at the table, he saw Kisame mouth him the words "good luck" before they were gone.

~~

Deidara threw himself to the ground just in time to see a kunai embed itself where his heart had been only moments before. Sasori was nowhere in sight, but that was the least of his worries. His enemies were much closer than he would have liked. In order to get any of his attacks to work properly, he'd need to get some distance. He threw a handful of smoke bombs into the trees, disappearing into the trees as soon as they exploded.

A small clay bird popped out of his hand mouth, and he smirked before whipping it towards his attackers. "Katsu, un," he whispered, quickly forming a hand sign.

The bomb detonated, completely destroying everything within a one hundred foot radius. Wind from the explosion whipped at Deidara's hair, and a smile broke out on his face. _How's that for regret, Sasori?_ he thought to himself as he crawled down from his hiding spot. With his enemies reduced to ash, it was more than safe enough for him to walk around.

"You're the type of idiot that's going to die young, brat," Sasori murmured, appearing about ten feet from his partner. When confusion made its way onto the bomber's face, he pointed to the tree the teen had been in only moments ago. The entire bottom was charred and most of the trunk had been blown away. "I'm surprised it hasn't crushed you yet."

Deidara shrugged and grinned at the redhead. He was getting better at this; killing people without a second thought. In fact, it was becoming second nature to him. Before, he was doing it just because he was hired to, or his life had been threatened. "Do you think we can go back to the base now, un?" The less time spent in Iwagakure, the better.

But instead of giving him the answer he wanted, Sasori shook his head. "We were supposed to gather information. The only reason we got into this whole fight was because you couldn't keep your mouth shut, remember?"

A look of disgust crossed the blond's face. "Oh yeah, un..." he murmured, following his partner back towards the ground. And he had gotten his hopes up and everything, too. How long was this going to take? Two weeks had already passed, and they had gotten nothing done.

When they reached Deidara's home town, everything was deserted. Not a single child was playing outside, and the normally busy shopping district was completely bare. Had they heard the fight from this far away? Well, considering the last bomb Deidara used, he wouldn't have been surprised if they did.

"This is a pretty warm welcome, un," Deidara commented.

"It's better than the last few we've gotten." The bomber nodded in agreement and they continued wandering through the streets. He had no idea as to what information they were supposed to be gathering. It had definitely said it on the mission description, but when they received it, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

"Would it be better if we split up, un?"

"It wouldn't hurt to." Deidara nodded and turned to leave. "Don't forget, we're looking for a man by the name Kirashi. I'm sure there's only one of him around here." Almost immediately, the blond grimaced. Yeah, there _was_ only one person by that name. And that person just so happened to know everything about him. Awesome.

"Sounds good, un," he lied, beginning to walk away. Not even a second later, however, he froze and turned back around. "Sasori, un?"

"What, brat? Don't tell me you're starting to get cold feet." While that was true, he wasn't about to admit it to the redhead.

"No, I just wanted to let you know that if I die...it wasn't all that bad working with you, un." Where was this nonsense coming from? Well, on one hand, it was true. With Sasori around, he didn't have to worry about watching his back nearly as much as before he had joined the Akatsuki.

Rather than giving him the same type of statement, Sasori let out a short laugh and rolled his eyes. "Thanks for pulling your hair back, brat."

Deidara grinned before spinning around on his heel and dashing towards Kirashi's home.

Assuming that it was in the same place as before, it wouldn't take too long before he arrived. But it wasn't until the bomber was almost halfway there and the sun had fallen that he realized the problem with what he was about to do.

Kirashi was dangerous, and Deidara had no idea whether or not he was on good terms with the Akatsuki. "Getting information" could be anything from having a decent chat to forcing prisoners into speaking to them. And not only that, but if he got into trouble, he doubted he'd be able to escape and tell Sasori where to find him.

Why didn't he think about this before? Splitting up definitely wasn't the best idea he could have thought of. If he could find Sasori soon, maybe they could finish up the mission by sunrise.

The bomber wasn't about to risk his life just to finish their mission a few days ahead of schedule.


	6. Chapter 5

The bomber let himself fall against the damp brick wall of a local supermarket. Water was still running down it from the recent rainstorm, causing a few streams of water to soak the back of his shirt. Had he cared, Deidara might have actually moved. However at the moment, wet clothes were the least of his problems.

After two hours of searching, Sasori was nowhere in sight. Did he go back to their motel already? He couldn't remember if that's where they were going to meet up again or not.

But as he searched through the familiar streets of Iwagakure, he couldn't find a single trace of the redhead. _This is ridiculous..._Deidara grumbled silently. He pushed the door open to a bar and stepped inside. The smell of smoke hit him like an oncoming train. It had barely changed in the past few years. Only thing different was that he wasn't coming in to collect his drunk father before his siblings got worried.

A few people glanced at him when he entered, but went back to their drinks not even a moment later. The puppeteer was still nowhere in sight. But what better place to ask for information than a bar? Or...at least that's what the movies had told him.

"What'd ya like, ma'am?" Had he not been in Iwa, he probably would have punched the bartender square in the face. But being a wanted criminal and all, Deidara would have to settle for whatever disguise he could get.

"Something cheap," he replied, choking back the "un" that usually slipped into his speech. If it got out even once, it'd be all over. After getting mocked for years at school over the speech impediment, he doubted that anyone would forget it that easily.

"'Course, ma'am." The bartender returned not even a minute later with a small glass of what looked to be whisky. Deidara swirled the drink around in his cup before taking a small sip. It took all of his will power not to gag at the taste. He was never big on drinking. Not only because of the taste, but getting drunk and throwing up the contents of his stomach didn't exactly appeal to him.

The blond took another sip, forcing himself to swallow. How was he supposed to ask about Sasori without completely giving them away?

"Hey, lady," a voice behind him purred. As soon as he heard it, Deidara began to murmur quiet curses under his breath.

_You've got to be kidding me_, he groaned silently. Drunken fools. This was the last thing he wanted to deal with. After putting up with his dad, he thought he'd gotten used to it. But now, every word still caused him to shiver. _Patience...you don't need to cause a scene._ A finger began to trace patterns on his neck, Deidara recoiled immediately. "Don't."

"C'mon, dear. I'll treat ya nice," the man behind him slurred, advancing towards the blond again.

"I'm not interested."

"Don't worry, ya can say all ya want. I like a hard to get wom'n."

Deidara took another sip of the horrific liquor. No matter how many times he told him to leave, the drunk refused to listen. Instead, he began to ramble on about some nonsense that could have bored Deidara to tears. Another sip, and the blond tried even harder not to gag. As soon as the cup was empty, the bartender filled it up again.

As he halfheartedly listened to the man beside him, he finished off another glass. By the time he had set it back on the counter, Deidara's head had already began to throb. He blinked a few times to see if it would go away, but it only made it worse. He slowly lifted one hand to the side of his head and clutched a handful of his hair.

Another glass was set before him. Although he could have thrown up by now, he forced it down. Halfway through the glass, he began to feel nauseous. Had he any brains left, he would have put it down and let the bartender take it away.

Unfortunately, the rest of the alcohol went down, and Deidara very nearly threw up. This was definitely not one of his brighter moments. The bomber moved to walk away, but began to stumble over his own feet. His vision was beginning to blur on him.

A pair of arms locked around his waist, and he very nearly screamed. "Hey, lady, you gonna fall if-"

"Don't touch me, un!" Deidara slurred, pushing the hand away from him. Oh, damn it. Everything was going to fall apart now. Losing his balance, he found himself on the ground not even a moment later. Flesh touched him again, but he only ended up trying-and failing-to pick himself up.

"Hey, are you all-"

"Stop it, un." He slapped the man's hand away and jumped to his feet. Too fast. Spots danced in front of his vision, and he blinked rapidly in an attempt to make them go away. Rather, it only got worse until he completely froze and waited for them to fade. What was going on? Between his headache, the nauseousness, and now this, he could have burst into tears.

"How 'bout I take yah back home with me, eh? You don't look so good." The drunk leaned closer, the stench of alcohol on his breath causing Deidara to gag. He needed to get away. Now. "I'll make sure you're all right," he whispered, leaning in much closer than the blond would have liked.

"No, un..." Deidara protested weakly, struggling to free himself. Why couldn't he pull himself together? "Please don't, un..." In his short life, he never thought he'd find himself in this position. Weakly begging for a drunk to back away from him. He had weapons, but as he reached for them, he only succeeded in grabbing either his pants or part of his cloak. His hands continued fumbling around where his clay pouch was supposed to be, but could never manage to grab it.

Panic swept over him, and the drunk only began to laugh. "C'mon, gal. Yer real pretty." Deidara bit his lip and shuddered. His mind couldn't process what was going on. He saw the entire thing unfold in front of him, but his body wouldn't react. The hands snaked back around the bomber's torso, and he tried to push the man away. Barely able to get any sort of strong movement from his arms, he was certain he was completely screwed.

This was gross. Deidara tried to pull away, to defend himself, anything. The only thing he managed to succeed in, though, was tripping over his own feet and landing back on the ground. A few people glanced at them every now and then, but didn't move to help. This was a normal occurrence in the bars. No one batted an eye at two drunks harassing each other. "Don't touch me, un..." Deidara pleaded, biting down even harder on his lip.

Not even a moment later, he heard chaos break out around him. There were shouts, the shattering of what had to be at least half a dozen beer bottles, and the sound of someone getting punched in the gut. The bomber squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the ground. This wasn't going to end well.

A pair of feet rushed towards them, and he tried to pretend that he wasn't completely screwed. "She told you to let go." Deidara felt the pair of hands ripped off of him, but didn't have the desire to look up. Great, another one was getting involved. A violent one, too. The voice was familiar, but in his incomprehensive state, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"You son of a-"

"Besides, the girl's with me. Hands off." Great, another one that thought he was a girl.

"Doesn't seem that you're very attached. I can borrow 'er for a while if ya want."

"No thanks. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be going." Without protesting, Deidara allowed himself to be lead out of the bar.

~~

"Damn, you really can't hold your liquor, can you?" Sasori chuckled. His partner groaned and buried himself deeper in the sheets of the motel bed. He had been stationed in that same spot for nearly ten hours, refusing to get up while the lights were still on. Deidara saw his father with hangovers often enough that he knew what would happen to him. And going the entire day being unable to tolerate light or loud noises didn't appeal to him. Pein could get their report tomorrow.

"Shut up, un," Deidara groaned from under the comforter. "This is terrible, un. How do people drink so often?"

Sasori shook his head. "What made you think it would be a good idea to drink that much liquor?" Not only that, but get completely drunk in a village where he was wanted as an S-ranked criminal. "You're lucky everyone thought you were a woman." But as the puppeteer looked him up and down, he couldn't understand how that had happened. Shrugging it off, he just assumed it was the alcohol.

"I didn't drink that much, un," Deidara mumbled from under the pillow. Both of the artists knew that was an outright lie. The bomber couldn't remember exactly how many, but it was more than enough to get him completely smashed. Then again, he couldn't really remember much of anything.

"Oh? Because the bill said that you drank at least three full glasses of whisky," Sasori shot back, taking a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. "You were too drunk to actually pay for it. You can thank me later."

He was never going to live this one down. "I don't want to put up with you right now, un," Deidara growled from under the covers. Even using a rough tone such as that made his head throb even more.

"Such harsh words...especially after I held back your hair while you were throwing your guts up last night."

Deidara blinked a few times. Had he just heard that right? Trying to think back on the previous night, everything was just a blur of meaningless events. "What happened, un?" he inquired, now curious.

"Do you really want to know?" Sasori asked, trying to hold back a laugh as he spoke.

"...I'd feel a lot better if I did, un."

Sasori snickered before getting up and striding across the room to sit next to his partner. Oh, this was going to be good. "Well, you see..."

~~

_Sasori led Deidara out of the bar, one of his hands locked tightly around the blond's shoulders. He tried to protest, squirming to get the older man's arm off of him. "How come everyone's touching me, un?" he slurred, barely able to lift his arm up, never mind hit Sasori away._

_The redhead rolled his eyes and let go, only to watch his partner collapse like a ton of bricks. "That's why. Now, are you going to let me do this, or should I leave you here?"_

_Deidara seemed to think deeply about it for a moment before extending his arms up to the puppeteer. "Help, un," he giggled, making grabby hands towards Sasori. This was getting a bit weirder than he would have liked._

_"You're like a little kid when you're drunk," Sasori murmured. But, be that as it may, he still leaned over and picked the blond up bridal style._

_"Woah, I've never flown before, un," Dediara murmured, burying his head in Sasori's shoulder. The redhead squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before briefly opening them. He had, in no way, been graced with the patience of a saint. He took a deep breath before starting towards their motel. As long as he got back there, everything would be fine._

_"Deidara, you're not flying."_

_"You smell nice, un," Deidara gushed, moving his face closer to the puppeteer's neck. Much closer than he would have liked._

_"And you smell like alcohol. Stop breathing on me."_

_At that moment, Sasori could have heard a pin drop. Determined not to let that stop him, however, he continued down the road, now only blocks from the motel. It wasn't until he made it a few more yards that he realized the blond's chest had stopped rising and falling. He rose a brow and glanced down, only to see the brat's face begin to turn blue._

_For a moment, panic swept over him. If anything happened to him, Pein was going to have Sasori's throat. "Hey quit fooling around...Wait a second, did you seriously stop breathing?" the redhead practically shouted, violently shaking his partner. Not even a second later, Deidara inhaled sharply, giving the puppeteer a puzzled look._

_"You told me not to breathe on you, un," Deidara murmured, cocking his head ever so slightly to the side. "What was I doing wrong?"_

_Sasori took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. "Deidara, that doesn't mean to stop breathing completely. I just don't want your alcohol breath in my face." And he thought the kid was stupid before he started drinking? The puppeteer began slowly counting to ten. No amount of training could have prepared him for this._

_The blond blinked a few times and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, un."_

_Thankfully, Deidara managed to silence himself until they got back to the motel. Sasori placed him down on one of the beds before throwing off his cloak. The bomber tried to do the same, only to get confused while trying to remove his arms from the sleeves. After minutes of struggling, he gave up and looked at Sasori. "What?"_

_"I don't feel good, un."_

_"That's because you're drunk out of your mind, idiot."_

_Rather than giving him a snide remark like he usually would have, Deidara burst out into a fit of laughter, the high shrieking noise even more grating than usual. Sasori placed one hand over his ears and sighed. No matter what he said now, the blond was either going to take him literally, or just laugh it off._

_"Woah, I really don't feel good, un," Deidara murmured, stopping dead in the middle of his laughter. He slowly got up from the bed, stumbled a bit, and then made a dash for the bathroom. Without missing a beat, Sasori followed suit. He knew exactly what was coming next._

_The puppeteer came in just in time to see Deidara collapse to the ground right in front of the toilet. Grabbing the brat's hair, he looked away right before the sound of wretching filled the room._

_As soon as he heard the toilet flush, he let go of Deidara's hair. He took the small glass on the bathroom sink and filled it with water before thrusting it into the blond's hands. "That was disgusting, un." Sasori nodded in agreement, filling up the glass again when his partner set it back on the counter._

_"Brush your teeth. Please."_

_Deidara mumbled something incoherent under his breath before standing up and doing as he was told. When he was finished, he washed his mouth out with another glass of water and stumbled out of the bathroom. "Should I take a shower, un?"_

_"If you want to drown," Sasori said with a shrug. The blond began mumbling, and sat himself back down on the bed._

_A short giggle slipped from Deidara's lips before he looked at Sasori. "Something funny happened once when-" Before he could even finish the sentence, the bomber fell backwards, completely unconscious._

~~

Deidara looked at his partner, searching for anything that would tell him that maybe, just maybe, it was all a lie. "You're kidding...right?" When Sasori shook his head, the blond groaned and flopped back onto his bed.

Sasori stood up and grabbed a handful of blond hair to pull his partner up as well. "You better get your stuff together. We have to get out of here soon," he said cheerfully, shaking the younger teen much rougher than he needed to. A shriek came from his partner's lips as he tried to pull himself away.

"You suck, un!" Deidara screamed, tugging at his hair in a poor attempt to free himself. What the hell was Sasori's problem? He had the worst hangover ever, and the redhead was shaking him around like it wouldn't do anything to him. "I'm gonna kill you, un!"

"I'll call that bluff." Sasori released the bomber and let him fall back onto the bed. "Now come on, we have to go."

"Why? I'm dying here, un..."

The puppeteer sighed heavily before pulling Deidara up again. "I may or may not have gotten into a huge bar fight. If I have to tell you to get ready one more time, I'm going to make this day the worst one of your life."

"I'd like to see you try, un," Deidara grumbled, but still got up to get his stuff together.

"If you insist." Sasori made his way over to the blinds before pulling them open and letting sunlight pour into their room. The bomber shrieked again and slapped his hands over his eyes.

"I hate you, un," he groaned, pulling his cloak and shoes on. "Come on, let's just get this over with, un,"

"Oh, Deidara?" Warily, said teen turned to face his partner. "Why were you even in that bar?"

He thought for a moment before shrugging. "I was looking for you, un," he said before turning back around.

"I feel like I should be offended."


	7. Chapter 6

"Let me get this straight..." Deidara heard his partner growl, followed by the sound of someone standing up. "I dragged myself to this hell hole because you bluffed about knowing our organization's plans?" A short laugh followed soon after. The blond adjusted his position so he could better press his ear against the wall.

Wiping out the guards around their newest victim's home had been a piece of cake. And with at least half of them being those fools he used to put up with...it was refreshing, almost. Good to know that justice still existed in this rotten world.

The reek of blood was still fresh in various places on the property. Unfortunately, his bombs hadn't done as well as he expected. Usually, the explosives were more than enough to completely singe the body and get rid of any mess. Whenever he could, avoiding blood and guts was usually preferred.

"I'm just surprised you fell for it," the man replied, laughing again. Deidara rose a brow. He knew that voice.

_Kirashi?_ he thought, frowning slightly. He sounded almost exactly the same. Even though Sasori had told him before, he still couldn't imagine how he managed to get himself tangled up with a crimnial organization Wait, no, Deidara didn't need to think all that hard about it. If he remembered correctly, the kid was talented...but couldn't even outsmart the down drunk. _Only stayed on top because of your status._

"You might've gotten a bit further...but you didn't even anticipate Deidara's attacks." Inside of the room, you could have heard a pin drop.

"That freak is here?" Kirashi asked slowly, as he if he were having trouble processing it. The blond could only smirk. Still as much of a moron as ever. Years ago, that one word would have brought him to tears. Children chasing him around, taunting and laughing was far too much for an over emotional child.

"Did you _not_ hear those explosions earlier?" Sasori asked, completely dumbfounded. The ex-iwagakure ninja hadn't exactly tried to conceal his attacks.

"Damn it! That little bastard-" before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud crash that sounded almost like a window breaking, followed by a groan. A few more crashes, and everything went silent. Deidara could hear his partner begin to mumble something under his breath, but he couldn't make out any full words.

The sound of a door opening reached his ears, and he immediately pulled away from the wall and made his way to the front of the property. The last thing he wanted was for Sasori to catch him eavesdropping. From the sound of it, the redhead didn't have much patience left. And another broken rib being the last thing Deidara wanted to deal with, he made sure to get out of there as quickly as possible.

He steadied out his breathing just in time for Sasori to whip around the corner of the house, looking just as agitated as he had sounded. If he just played it dumb, everything would be fine. "How did the meeting-"

"One more word and I'll be happy separate your larynx from the rest of your body, brat." Deidara resisted the urge to say anything. After years upon years of being taught to confronting anyone who messed with him, just biting is tongue and keeping quite was more than a challenge. Sasori sighed heavily, and he was tempted to ask what was wrong, but quickly banished the idea. At this point, anything he said was going to get him killed.

~~

During the trek back to the motel, Deidara trailed behind the redhead while he cursed quietly about how everything had gone wrong, and that this entire thing was a waste of time. While he didn't know the specific details, just the general idea was enough. Maybe when Sasori was in a better mood, he'd ask about the rest.

"Brat," Sasori growled as soon as he shut the door to their room. He was trying to keep his face emotionless, but just ended up looking infuriated.

"Un?" Deidara murmured, half paying attention to what was going on as he quickly packed his bag up. Thankfully, most of his clay had been used, leaving the thing a ton lighter for their travel back to the base.

When his partner didn't reply, he looked up to find the puppeteer staring at him. "...Forget it. We better get out of here," he grumbled, slinging his back over his shoulder. That was true. With Kirashi still being the top of Iwagakure's social list, people were going to find out about this. Fast. And if word got out that Deidara was partially responsible for it? News would spread like wildfire.

"Yeah, un..."

It wasn't until they reached the base that Deidara dared to speak again. He never thought he'd truthfully be glad to return to the disaster of a building. But hey, despite being forced to join against his will, at least he knew he was safe. Or at least...relatively so.

The blond threw his bag onto his desk, while Sasori immediately buried himself back in his work. At this, Deidara couldn't help but frown. "Do you think working on that's such a good idea if you're stressed, un?"

The redhead turned in his chair and glared at Deidara. "I know what I'm doing, brat," he hissed before turning back to his puppet.

What the hell? All he did was try to help the redhead out. Just when he thought the older man was starting to act like less of a prick, too. "I was just giving you some advice, un..." he grumbled, hopefully quiet enough so that Sasori couldn't hear it. Just being around the puppeteer was bringing his own stress level up.

At the splintering of wood, Deidara's blood ran cold. If there was anything that he had learned in the few months he had been in the Akatsuki, it was that Sasori _never_, under _any_ circumstances, broke a puppet.

You know...some fresh air sounded awesome right about then. The blond hurried for the door, just barely able to get his hand on the doorknob before he heard Sasori stand up. "What was that?"

Not good. Deidara's hand fell from the door and he began fidgeting, watching his partner's every move. Judging from the malice that was just dripping from his voice, the blond was _not_ in a good position. "You're not supposed to work on art when you're stressed out, un," Deidara said, sounding much more confident than he felt. He could have sworn he saw Sasori visibly twitch.

He didn't say anything out of line, did he? Sheesh, so much for not having to be afraid. What on earth made him think that a single order from Pein was going to do anything? Especially at this point, where they had been sent three countries away for a mission that just so happened to be a total bust. "That's bull."

Before Deidara could properly weigh the consequences of what was going to happen, he smirked and looked his partner dead in the eyes. "I guess that's why your art sucks so much, un."

In that instant, the two of them were speechless. For the longest time, all they could do was stare at each other, trying to anticipate the other's next words or actions.

Finally, Sasori managed to form a few tangible words. "At least my art...isn't reckless like your explosions."

Deidara pursed his lips. "Reckless? There's nothing reckless about beauty, un."

"Pray tell, what's so beautiful about all that smoke and fire?"

"Fire never looks the same twice, un."

"And?"

"Art is brief, un. Never the same twice, and never for a long period of time, un."

Sasori paused for a moment, smirking to himself. "Geez, how many times did your parents drop you as a child?" He _really_ didn't want to put up with this brat right now, but there was no way he was going to let the kid think he had won this argument. Art was a nonnegotiable matter. Eternal, and nothing else.

He watched Deidara's mouth move, but no words came out. "Not as many times as yours dropped you, un," he finally managed to shoot back, voice getting considerably softer as the sentence went on.

In that one mess of words, Sasori could tell that something was wrong. Now, he had two choices; either drop it and pull out something else to use against the bomber (which was more than easy) or keep going until he struck a nerve. Had he any respect for the younger man, he probably would have chosen the former. But being as pissed off as he was, such a thought only stayed with him for a second.

"At least my parents didn't hate my guts." A blank look completely dominated Deidara's face. The puppeteer stared at him, waiting for what was going to come next. He could already tell that Pein was going to kill him for this one. They weren't exactly trying to keep their voices down, and he was pretty sure he'd be able to hear the two with no problem.

The blank look twisted into something that vaguely resembled anger, the confusion, and then something else, which Sasori couldn't quite recognize. It almost looked like the blond had been stabbed right through the chest. Repeatedly. For a moment, Deidara looked as if he were going to say something back. Instead, tears began to well up in his eyes.

It wasn't until the blond dashed out of the room that Sasori began to feel bad. Complete hindrance or not, bringing up parents was usually off limits during arguments. In the Akatsuki, talking about the past was a touchy subject, no matter who it was. The redhead stuck his head out of their room, stepping out and shutting the door softly soon after.

He, for a brief moment, thought about giving Deidara the same talk about controlling his emotions...but quickly decided against it.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this whole thing happened because he was stressed about that moronic Iwagakure ninja completely screwing up three weeks of his life. Three weeks that could have been spent doing so many other important things. How had Pein been tricked so easily?

Pushing thoughts of the previous mission aside, he made his way around the base, still finding no sign of Deidara. Thankfully, the other members didn't seem to notice that there was a problem. If he was lucky, Pein would let this one slide.

Even outside, the bomber had managed to completely disappear. It wasn't until Sasori made his way down to the cave they used for beast extractions that he began to find hints of his partner. There were several charred trees leading up to it, and when the redhead got to the giant red structure just in front of the cave, he saw a few locks of blond hair hanging over the edge of it.

Sitting down next to his partner, Sasori wasn't surprised in the least when the bomber completely ignored him. "Hey, brat." Nothing. Not even a glare to acknowledge him. Had he been a complete fool, he would have brought the subject up again. But knowing that it would only make things worse, the puppeteer sighed and waited for a few minutes before continuing. "Come on, are you always this much of a baby?" Sasori slapped his hand over his mouth. That was _not_ supposed to come out.

"Are you always this much of a prick, un?"

"...Touche," Sasori mumbled. That caught the blond's attention. His snide remark didn't spark another argument? "I shouldn't have argued with you," he then added, frowning slightly. "Sorry."

Deidara had trouble believing this. "Did Pein yell at you, un?" That was a logical explanation...right? Leader probably didn't want to deal with so much drama only hours after they returned from their mission, especially since they left on a pretty poor note.

"I don't think he heard us."

"...Oh, un." Well, there went that possibility. "It's fine, un." What else was he supposed to say? He was going to have to put up with the redhead for the rest of his life, so what was the point in holding a grudge this early on anyway? And from what he got, the apology sounded pretty darn sincere. Just the fact that the words even came from his mouth was impressive.

Sasori glanced at Deidara from the corner of his eye. Even after all that, he still didn't look up at his partner. Either way, the potential disaster had been averted quite nicely.  
>"I'm going to head back and submit our mission report," Sasori said after a long silence. He got up to leave, but was stopped by a hand grabbing onto the bottom of his cloak. "Deidara?" The blond mumbled something inaudible. "Hm?"<p>

"Could you stay here a little longer, un?" he repeated, a bit louder this time. Wordlessely, the puppeteer nodded and sat back down. "Thanks, un."


	8. Chapter 7

If there was one thing Sasori absolutely adored, it was thunderstorms. With nowhere to go, and Pein unwilling to assign a mission when one was in range, it gave the puppeteer time to relax. While he loved working on his puppets most of the time, setting aside a day or two to just unwind was always fantastic. And what better day to rewind than sit in the kitchen of the Akatsuki base, with storm in full view, and a book in hand?

The only thing that he _didn't_ appreciate was that his idiot of a partner had too short of an attention span to keep from constantly bothering him. Was it impossible for Deidara to occupy himself for a couple of hours? Surely he could go play with some explosives, or bug some other Akatsuki member.

"Danna, un?" Not only did he insist on bothering the redhead, but Deidara had decided that after being rescued from the bar after getting completely smashed, he would talk to his partner with utmost respect. Now, had he used any other word, it wouldn't have been a problem. Heck, Sasori had no problem with the bomber telling him that the older man was much more powerful.

The problem with this whole thing, however, was that "danna" also happened to mean "husband." Whether or not the blond was actually aware of this was a whole different story. But considering it had been going on for weeks now, Deidara either didn't know or didn't care.

"What, brat?" The redhead murmured, flipping another page in his book. Still clinging onto the small bit of hope that his partner would go entertain himself, he continued to read.

"I'm bored, un." Yeah, it didn't take a genius to figure that one out. Sasori glanced up from his book and saw the bomber sitting there, looking as if he were deep in thought. Probably straining that peanut brain of his to think of some form of entertainment.

"Go outside and play with some bombs," Sasori suggested, acting as if he had no idea there was a storm going on just outside the base. Deidara turned around, and with one flash of lightning, followed by a tremendous crash of thunder, he was asking his partner for other ideas.

"It's storming out, un," he groaned. "I can't use my explosives without them all getting deactivated on me, un!"

The puppeteer rolled his eyes. "Then just go outside."

"Lightning, un."

"Oh, I forgot. You need something metal to run around with, right?" Sasori flipped another page in the book, only to put it back. He couldn't even remember what he had just read. Why was his partner so damn good at being a nuisance? Too busy trying to find where he was before Deidara began bothering him, he didn't notice the annoyed look the blond had shot him.

"We could play a game, un," Deidara suggested with a shrug. It wasn't like there was anything else to do. And besides, he had already read for quite a bit today. His attention span wasn't large enough to try and read some more.

"Games are for children, brat. Besides, I'm busy."

"You're practically reading your book backwards, un. Feel free to tell me that's considered being 'busy' though, un."

Sasori sighed heavily and placed his book down on the table. He already knew he wasn't getting out of this one. "Fine, brat. What do you want to play?" he asked. Something meant for children, probably. The only thing he could hope was that none of the other Akatsuki members saw them.

"Um...that game where you stab between your fingers with a knife, un," Deidara suggested, grinning. The puppeteer rose a brow. "What? We can still play Candy Land if you want to, un."

"Here," Sasori began, extending his hand across the table. "I don't need Pein chewing me out for stabbing you. And if you get my fingers, I won't even feel it." The blond grinned even wider before jumping up and running across the kitchen, presumably to get a knife.

"Too scared to give it a shot, un?"

"Scared? I just don't want to inconvenience myself." Deidara rolled his eyes and slowly tapped the spaces between Sasori's fingers. The puppeteer went back to his book, not surprised in the least when he heard the splintering of wood as soon as the blond started to speed up. "If I had done that to you, you would have screamed." The kid was too over dramatic not to.

"You wish, un." Sasori gave no reply, and continued reading as his partner continued trying to stab between his fingers. More often than not, he would completely miss his mark. By the time he had gotten bored, most of the redhead's fingers had been stabbed or completely demolished.

"Done already?" he murmured, glancing up from his book. Deidara shrugged before resting his hands on the table. The two sat in complete silence, not bothering to even look at each other for the longest time.

It wasn't until Deidara began drumming on the table with his hands that the puppeteer realized he wanted to talk. "What happened to Kirashi, un?" Sasori looked straight at the blond, who was patiently waiting for a response. Where had the sudden interest come from? The mission had been completed weeks ago, and Deidara hadn't mentioned their previous enemy since.

"Not too much," he lied. Even now, the redhead would much rather _not_ go into the details of what had gone on in that arrangemnet.

"Danna, I heard the whole thing, un."

Sasori's eyes widened. He _what_? But the brat was all the way on the other side of the property when he came out. "I'm not a fool, un. It only took me a few minutes to finish my part of the mission, un."

The redhead sighed and put his book down again. "I lost my temper." That was really the only way he could explain it. He didn't particularly want to go into details of how he brutally maimed the man. As amusing as it was, just thinking about him was enough to put Sasori in a foul mood.

"How so? It sounded like you tore him apart, un." Yes, that sounded about right. Sasori shrugged in response, which apparently wasn't good enough for the blond. "Well, un?"

"Well, what?"

"Did you, un?"

"Broke a few bones, tore a few limbs off...no big deal," the puppeteer said with another shrug. That probably wasn't enough for the brat to drop it.

Much to Sasori's surprise, however, Deidara said nothing more. Rather, he pointed the knife in his partner's direction, acting as if he hadn't heard anything. "You wanna try, un?"

Sasori sighed. "I already told you, Pein'll get pissed if I stab you."

"Not if I said it was all right, un."

"So you'll just tell him your a masochist?"

"...Considering this organization, do you really think it would come off as odd, un?" Sasori had no reply to this. It was more true than he'd like to admit, he'd give the blond that much. Hidan was constantly getting blood everywhere with his "rituals" so everyone was practically nullified to the concept of someone stabbing themselves.

"If it'll make you shut up, brat." The redhead took the knife from the younger boy's hands before quickly tapping it a few times between his fingers. Navigating the knife much swifter than his partner, he was able to hit in between Deidara's fingers without so much as brushing his skin.

"You're pretty good at this, un." Either that, or he was just terrible at it. Deidara watched, mesmerized as Sasori managed to hit in between his fingers. By now, the blond would have already taken off a finger or two.

"Accuracy goes a long way, brat."

~~

It wasn't until Deidara had screamed upon being woken up by his partner that Sasori decided something needed to be done about his Chiraptophobia. At first, it was simply annoying, but it wasn't as if the redhead couldn't deal with it. With Chiyo working in the hospital, he had heard of far worse things, such as a fear of flowers or a fear of sunlight. Completely irrational things.

"You have to pull yourself together, brat," the redhead growled, rubbing his temples in a foolish attempt to get rid of the stress that was quickly building up. Deidara was still jumpy from being "assaulted." Really, Sasori had completely forgotten that his partner would flip if he was woken up by a hand simply touching his shoulder. Or any other part of him, for that matter.

Deidara, rather than complying with the puppeteer's request, scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm perfectly fine, un."

"Is that why you were in hysterics as soon as you woke up?" Sasori inquired. The brat's scream was enough to make him jump and bolt across the room. He hadn't expected him to sound like he was being murdered, of all things. Not only that, but had his body not been made entirely out of wood, the punch Deidara managed to land would have been enough to break a bone or two. Speaking of which, he still needed to check if his torso had cracked from the blow.

Mumbling something inaudible, the blond didn't even bother to look back at the redhead. When he rose a brow and said nothing, Deidara figured out that he should probably repeat himself. "I thought I was being attacked, un," he lied. At this point, he wasn't going to admit that just the touch had been enough to make him freak out. That wasn't exactly something the bomber wanted hanging over his head. Something that simple could easily be used to his partner's advantage if they got into an argument. That and...being a grown man, the phobia was more than embarrassing.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "How long have we been working together?"

Deidara shrugged. "Seven or eight months, un?"

"In that time, have I ever forgotten to secure our room before we slept?" The blond shook his head. That was true. His partner always checked at least three times to make sure that everything was sealed. After nearly twenty years as an S-ranked criminal, he was sure to keep himself safe at all times. Lasting this long, the concept of someone constantly after him was completely normal. "So, want to try and give me the right answer this time?"

Deidara bit his lip. There was no way he was going to get out of this, was he? Not only was Sasori precise in everything he did, he was extremely good at interrogation. On multiple occasions, he had seen the redhead torment his victims until he got the answers he was looking for. And after seeing what some of them had been through, the blond didn't want to push his luck. "...I was scared, un," he mumbled as quietly as he dared. Having to repeat himself again would only anger Sasori.

"Why?" Instead of giving him a reply, the blond shrugged and looked out the window. Could he have made it any more obvious that he was lying? The bomber didn't even have the guts to look Sasori in the eye when he said anything. "Brat, I'm losing my patience," he warned, tapping his fingers on the younger boy's bedpost.

It took a few more minutes of interrogation before Deidara had spilled the story. He had half expected the redhead to laugh when he explained how his drunken father hand tried to kill him, and that his sensei had to save him from potential death. But...oh, right. Sasori didn't laugh all that often. "Happy now, un?" he grumbled, face burning from embarrassment. Wasn't one of the unspoken rules not to deal with each others pasts? The blond watched his partner, who was simply staring at his newly fixed hands. What did it matter, anyway?

"You listened to an old fool, took it to the extremes, and now you're afraid of getting touched?"

"He was right, un."

"Did I wake you up this morning with the intention of harming you?"

Deidara paused for a moment before shrugging. "You backhanded me a little while after I woke up."

The redhead scowled. "But was that before or after you started screaming like a little girl?" No response. "You're going to have to get over this."

"No, un."

Sasori rolled his eyes again. "What's going to happen if you're seriously hurt, and I need to patch you up?" Deidara shrugged. "Well? I'm waiting, brat."

"I'll never get that hurt."

"Don't be so arrogant. Do you know how many bodies I've been through? What makes you think you'll be able to get through life without a single severe injury?" The blond said nothing. When Sasori was sure that he wasn't going to get a response from the younger male, he reached forward and seized him by the wrists.

Almost immediately, Deidara began violently struggling, preparing to scream if his partner didn't let go. Screaming bloody murder had gotten the redhead away from him quickly, so he was almost positive it would work again. "Sasori, what the hell, un?"

"Stop struggling."

"Or what, you'll smack me in the face again, un?"

"No, I just won't let go." Deidara frowned and inhaled sharply, fully preparing to scream. If anything, it would catch someone else's attention. Preferably Pein's. Since the blond had done absolutely nothing, Sasori would have to deal with another lecture while he had plenty of time to hide.

"Danna, you're wasting you're time, un." At this, Sasori only smirked.

"If it'll make you stop screeching, it's worth it." Deidara tried to pull away again, only to slam his head against the wall. A yelp slipped from his lips, and just by looking at him, Sasori could tell that he was about to go into hysterics if he wasn't careful. "Brat, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then let go, un!"

"This is a completely irrational fear." Like that meant anything to the bomber. If anything, his struggling grew more violent. "Why aren't you listening to me?"

"Because you're lying, un," Deidara hissed, managing to pull one of his arms free. The victory was short lived, because no even a moment later, he was pinned against the wall. "You're going to hurt me, un," the blond whispered, body shaking lightly. "You're going to, un..."

Sasori eyes widened ever so slightly at the sudden change of emotion. One minute the kid's freaking out and acting like a psychopath, and the next he's shaking like a frightened child. "Brat, I know you can deal with this," he murmured, rustling the bomber's hair. It was what his grandmother had done to him as a child, and usually, it worked.

"I can't, un. Let go."

"Brat, you were perfectly fine when I brought you back to the motel."

"Un?"

"When you were drunk out of your mind, you were practically clinging to me. Don't try to tell me you can't let people touch you." At this Deidara could feel his face heating up.

"My actions when I'm drunk have nothing to do with-" Sasori pressed a finger against the bomber's lips.

"Stop." This time, Deidara made an honest attempt to keep himself calm and collected. Which lasted for all of two minutes before he was squirming again. "Brat, at least get yourself to accept that I'm not going to hurt you. Can you do that much?"

"Why would you want me to do that, un?" Deidara inquired, raising a brow.

"Because if we don't start trusting each other, being partners isn't going to work out."


	9. Chapter 8

They might not be able to work together if he couldn't put this fear aside? A few months ago, Deidara would have been thrilled at that. Now, however, the idea of being paired up with someone else was actually horrifying. Sasori was fantastic to work with, despite constantly being rude to the bomber. That and he was constantly trying to irritate the younger man.

Which Deidara could only assume was why he was being pinned to the wall because of something that was absolutely none of the puppeteer's business. "Danna, let go, un," he said for the millionth time, but Sasori refused to listen. Instead, he just stared at the blond, waiting for his fear to magically dissipate.

"Just think about it," the redhead murmured, eyes going from the wall to the window and then back to his partner. As long as the brat could accept that he wasn't going to be harmed by his own partner (which was much easier said than done) they'd be pretty good to go. Unfortunately, Sasori had been responsible for several broken bones, which he doubted Deidara had forgotten about.

"I don't need to, un."

"I'd beg to differ. I'm going to let go of you, but...consider it. At this point, why would I waste my time trying to hurt you?" And with that, Sasori let go of the younger Akatsuki member. The blond debated darting out of the room, but was too shaken up to try. He wouldn't get very far before Sasori caught him, anyway. He stared as the puppeteer left the room, making no attempt to stop him.

What was this nonsense about not wanting to hurt him? There really wasn't any other reason for the redhead to be touching him. Deidara let himself slump to the ground. Deep in thought, he took out a handful of clay and began lightly punching it to get the air bubbles out of it. Normally, his hand mouths could have taken care of it, but he needed something to distract him.

After what felt like an hour of just sitting there, trying to believe Sasori's words, the blond got up and went into the kitchen. Most of the time, he'd be able to find his partner there. Usually, there'd be a few other Akatsuki members sitting there and talking to him. Maybe they could take his mind off of things for a bit.

"Damn, you two are worse than Hidan and Kakuzu," Kisame said, just as Deidara walked into the room. The three Akatsuki members sitting in the kitchen pretended not to notice him. Either that, or they just didn't care if he could hear them.

"At least you don't tear each other apart. Blood's always a pain to clean up," Itachi added, shrugging slightly. Sasori nodded in agreement before talking more to Kisame. He was staring out the window with a bored expression, and only seemed to be half listening to the conversation.

Deidara situated himself on the other side of the room and grabbed a glass of water. It was a good enough excuse to let him listen in on them. In most cases, he didn't bother eavesdropping, but with nothing else to do, it seemed like a good idea.

"Hey, he's obnoxious, but he's easier to get along with than Orochimaru was, right?" Kisame pointed out, and Sasori shrugged. That was debatable.

"Define 'get along with'."

"He's not constantly following you around"-Sasori shot him a flat look- "Well...He doesn't try to figure out how you turned yourself into a puppet."

"True," Sasori said, only to mumble something inaudible under his breath right after. Deidara strained to hear, but couldn't make out any of the words. What?

"Kisame, Pein wanted us to meet with him now," Itachi murmured, getting up from his seat.

The group dispersed, leaving Deidara to wonder what had just been said about him.

~~

Deidara found himself trailing behind Sasori, a small bag slung over his shoulder. For the first time in weeks, they had been sent on a mission. This time, to a small town just outside of Amagakure. It had only taken a few hours to reach the outskirts of the town, and from the looks of it, the security wasn't all that tight.

"Danna, where are we supposed to go, un?" the bomber inquired, looking around carelessly. At the question, Sasori rolled his eyes. The brat could at least _pretend_ he was paying attention when Pein was talking to them. Either that, or actually take the time to read the assignment's description.

With an exasperated sigh, he finally decided to respond to his partner. "There's supposed to be a nearby—Get down!" Sasori shouted, just in time for the blond to throw himself to the ground with his hands over his head. He had heard those two words enough times to react without any sort of thought. The puppeteer, on the other hand, had to settle for throwing his arms in front of him, barely stopping a kunai from hitting his heart container.

In less than a minute, a full scale brawl had broken out. From what Sasori had managed to draw from the sudden fight, the village had planned an ambush. Which, unfortunately for them, wasn't working out in their favor. With their security dropping like flies, the redhead wasn't worried in the least when he saw more and more ninja pouring out of the village to surround the two artists.

What Sasori didn't understand was how easily these fools could throw away their lives. Surely they saw their companions being struck down by his poisons, and being torn to pieces by his art. Going into the fight, they must have known it was a lost cause.

The puppeteer glanced at his partner, who wasn't even breaking a sweat. He had already set off at least a dozen explosions, all of which had killed a considerable amount of enemies. The bodies left behind were either unrecognizable, or were nothing more than ash. How had Deidara not burnt himself yet? Although his art was trash, it was impressive that he hadn't managed to harm himself, even while fighting close range with the explosives. From the corner of his eye, he saw one of their enemies sneaking up behind the blond, intent on stabbing him in the back of the neck.

As soon as his hand touched the bomber, however, he completely snapped. In one swift move, he spun around and kicked the man in the head, the force of the blow hard enough to snap his neck.

Distracted from his fight, Sasori barely had enough time to catch an attacking ninja's fist and dig a poisoned blade into his torso. He let out a scream and collapsed to the ground, writhing as the poison seeped into his system.

The numbers they were against decreased steadily, until there was only about a dozen ninjas left to kill. A few kunai flew at the two Akatsuki members, most of which missed. For a group that managed to survive the blood bath, they certainly had poor aim. Sasori glanced at his partner again, raising a brow when he saw the blond frozen in place, eyes locked on a kunai that had just hit the ground between the two.

Deidara mouthed something, and his eyes widened considerably, but the redhead couldn't make out a word of it. _What?_ He stared at the kunai as well, and that was when he realized that the final enemies had circled around the two. "Danna, run! It's gonna-"

The rest of Deidara's words were swallowed up by a deafening explosion.

~~

The last thing Sasori remembered before being knocked unconscious was debris flying everywhere, Deidara screaming, and body parts being thrown across the battlefield. The ground was torn apart, and everything had been hidden by a large cloud of smoke and fire.

The redhead slowly blinked his eyes open and sat up, finding himself in the middle of dozens of torn up corpses. Just by looking at his body, he knew it was a miracle his heart container hadn't sustained any severe damage. A small line of blood had dripped from it, but it was only from a small scratch on the outer layer of tissue.

Sasori pulled himself to his feet and brushed whatever dust he could off of his faux skin. Where had that explosion come from? The only thing he could think of was an explosive tag being wrapped around the kunai Deidara was staring at so intently. But were they really capable of destroying that much? There had been very few situations where Sasori had actually needed to use a bomb. Usually, his puppets would suffice for both short and long rage attacks. As soon as Deidara joined the Akatsuki, he left explosive knowledge to-

"Damn it!" Sasori shouted, eyes widening at the sudden realization. Instead of running, the blond had stayed where he was and tried to tell his partner what was going on. Being an expert on the subject, he must have known full well what was about to happen...therefore giving him plenty of time to escape..._Then why the hell did he stay behind?_

The only thing that the redhead could think of was that he honestly stayed behind to warn him. But why would Deidara do something like that? The two were constantly bickering, and it would have been easier for him to just book it out of there and leave the puppeteer to fend for himself.

Sasori squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to think of a possible solution. But when nothing came to mind, he shifted his attention to a more important problem; namely, finding Deidara. His body was nowhere to be seen, and he wouldn't have been surprised if the bomber was either in a million pieces, or a few yards away from where he was before the explosion.

After turning over several bodies and still finding no sign of the blond, Sasori could practically hear his heart thumping in his chest. More bodies, and still not even a clue as to where Deidara had gone. Where could his body have gone? Unless it had gotten completely burned up, it had to be on the battlefield somewhere.

A low groan reached the redhead's ears, and he glanced at the ground just next to his foot. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened ever so slightly. Laying next to his foot was Deidara, completely soaked in blood. Deep gashes covered the bomber's body; most of which were still seeping blood. His shirt was soaked, and his hair was tangled and full of debris dried blood. "Danna, un," he managed to choke out, coughing violently not a second after he said it.

Sasori knelt down next to his partner, rubbing his back in a circular motion while he proceeded to hack up a few mouthfuls of blood. Due to practically dying, the bomber didn't even bother to make his partner stop touching him. Rather, he welcomed the small attempt at comforting him. "Dei, try not to move," he murmured, continuing to rub the younger man's back.

The blond nodded, which only resulted in another mouthful of blood coming up. All over Sasori's cloak. Immediately, Deidara tensed up. Sasori was going to kill him. This was it, he was _dead_. But rather than end his life like he was expecting, the bomber felt himself being picked up. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Shh," Sasori whispered, pulling the younger Akatsuki member close to him before bolting from the battlefield. He didn't have much time. There could very well be more enemies around, and the redhead couldn't fight. Not with Deidara's life in danger.

Ducking into a nearby cave, he set the blond down, watching helplessly as he began coughing again. The explosion must have ruptured one of his organs. And if he didn't get it fixed soon, the kid was going to die from blood loss. Thankfully, he had brought some medical equipment with him.

Sasori reached into his pocket, and froze. When he pulled his hand out, a pile of ashes rested on his fingers. His eyes widened, and he could only stare at what remained of his medical supplies as Deidara's coughing worsened. Blood began to pool next to his body, and it didn't take much thought to realize the blond probably couldn't handle this much blood loss.

Grabbing hold of the bomber's now clammy hands, he tilted his face up so that he could at least try to comfort him. His skin had gone pale, body trembling violently. "H-help me, un," he managed to force out between coughs.

The words took Sasori by surprise. He was planning on doing so anyway, but Deidara had essentially told him before that he would never need help from the puppeteer. He was far too independent to get aid from another person. Nodding quickly, he put Deidara's hands down and slipped off his own cloak. If anything, he'd be able to patch up some of the exterior wounds the blond's body. He easily tore the cloak to shreds and began wrapping up the gashes that decorated the other Akatsuki member's body as quickly as he could.

Deidara made no move to struggle. Rather, he stayed where he was, body going completely limp. _Oh, shit._ As soon as he was done patching him up, Sasori pressed two fingers against his partner's neck. _Please, please still have a pulse._ It was dull, but it was still there. Either way, the bomber was still coughing his guts up, which Sasori couldn't help but think was obstructing his breathing.

The redhead tightly grasped Deidara's hand, giving him something to hold onto in case he was in pain. Chiyo had told him that it helped when someone in pain had something to grab onto.

And all of a sudden, the coughing stopped. Sasori's free hand shot back up to the younger man's neck, checking for a pulse. But rather than the dull thudding of Deidara's heart, there was absolutely nothing.


	10. Chapter 9

Deidara blinked his eyes open, and upon seeing nothing but darkness, assumed he was either dead or dying. Something was draped over his body, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what. It felt soft, and the blond could only hope that it was his cloak. What else could it be, though? Certainly not the feeling of being swallowed by death. He tried to pull himself into a sitting position, or at least move, only to be hit with a wave of pain. A low groan slipped from the bomber's lips. Oh, this was lovely.

"Deidara?" the item on top of him shifted, and a dull light revealed everything around him. After blinking a few times, he saw that the item was indeed his cloak, and it was now gripped in Sasori's wooden hand. The puppeteer's other hand was gripping Deidara's so hard that he could have sworn the bones were about to snap. "How did you...your pulse...You were dead, Deidara."

Had he really just said the bomber's name? Deidara found that more fascinating than the fact that he had apparently been dead for a while. It had been months since he heard Sasori speak his name, and at first, he didn't know whether or not to respond to it.

"Un," he grunted, shrugging. Pain stung at his torso, and he let his shoulders fall. Silence fell over them, and not even a minute later, Sasori let out a nervous laugh.

"I was in hysterics...Leader was going to be _pissed_." Yeah, the blond had kind of figured that's all his partner would worry about. At this point, it really didn't bother him. The only reason he expected to be defended in battle was because Pein would undoubtedly be upset if they lost his abilities. Complete idiot or not, Deidara was good with explosives. Something the Akatsuki desperately needed.

"Sasori...did you do all this, un?"

"No, you got caught in an explosion. If I were going to tear you up that much, I'd just let you die."

"No shit. I'm talking about the bandages, un."

The puppeteer hesitated for a moment before shrugging. "I'm surprised it was enough to keep you alive," Sasori murmured, gripping the bomber's hand even tighter. The younger Akatsuki member had yet to protest, so he continued tightening his grip until the boy began to try and pull away.

"You're hurting me, un," Deidara stated as calmly as he could manage. Immediately, the pressure on his hand lessened, followed by an apology from the redhead.

Silence fell over the two, until Sasori finally decided to speak. "How did you get caught in that blast?" he inquired softly, brushing a few strands of hair out of Deidara's face. His body was still covered in blood, but he was going to have to put up with it until they either got to a river, or made it back to the base.

Deidara bit his lip, but said nothing. What was he supposed to tell the redhead? He spent his life studying bombs, but he couldn't protect himself from a simple paper explosion? That wouldn't go well with the puppeteer. It was stupidity at the very least. Incompetence. Something Sasori had made very clear he wouldn't put up with.

So rather than replying, he shook his head and hoped Sasori would drop it. Yeah, like that was going to happen. "Brat, tell me what happened."

"...You didn't see the bomb, un." Sasori nodded once, silently waiting for his partner to continue. "  
>The blond waited a good couple of minutes before speaking again. "I was scared."<p>

"So you didn't run?"

"Not like that, un," Deidara whispered, a nervous smile crossing his face. "I didn't want you to die, un."

Sasori's eyes widened. He thought he was going to have to pester the blond until he got an answer. He thought he was just going to get some poor excuse for his partner's action. The puppeteer did not think that was going to be said to his face. "Why?"

The bomber stared at him, as if he were confused by the question. "My lungs, un..." Deidara whispered, his face suddenly twisting into a pained expression. Sasori immediately dropped the question, far too worried about his partner's well being to further press the matter.

The redhead's arms held Deidara down, keeping him from hurting himself by making any sort of sudden movement. It took a few deep breaths, and about ten minutes of Sasori holding his partner down, but the blond finally managed to calm himself down again.

"Thank you, danna, un," he murmured, looking up at Sasori with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah."

~~

Deidara slapped a hand over his mouth, trying—and failing—to stop another coughing fit. Each time one swept over him, his entire stomach cavity would scream, begging him to stop. Thankfully, the bleeding had decreased considerably...only to be replaced by horrible pains whenever he did so much as breathe too heavily.

Thanks to his delightful injuries, the blond found himself stranded in the cave for almost three days while Sasori went about trying to finish the mission. A few times, he tried to tag along, but was usually discouraged by threats pertaining to several different types of poison.

It wasn't so much that Deidara wanted to complete the mission. Actually, he would have had no problem with just going back to the base. The only reason the blond kept trying to go was due to being afraid of what his partner would say to him. In his lethargic state, each comment stung, no matter how lightly they were supposed to be taken.

"Brat, we're heading back tomorrow."

"Did you finish the mission, un?"

"If I didn't, do you think I'd waste my time in here?" Deidara pursed his lips and adverted the redhead's gaze. He should have expected these snide remarks by now, but each time, he found himself getting caught completely off guard. When the blond said nothing, Sasori sat down next to him and rested his hand on top of his partner's. The bomber had gotten much better about being touched, although the redhead was almost positive he was the only person that got away with it.

"How did it go, un?"

"No different from usual. I feel like I've been dealing with incompetent fools for the past few months," Sasori stated, frowning slightly. Missions no longer seemed to be a challenge. With no sighting of tailed beasts in almost a year, things were rather dull. Not only that, but Orochimaru wasn't causing as much trouble as when he had first left the Akatsuki. While the puppeteer had no problem with the assignments being simple, the tasks became monotonous.

"Do you think we should head back now, un?" Deidara inquired. He had a feeling that walking that far wasn't going to go as smoothly as Sasori expected. With a day's head start, he might not get yelled at for making them late.

Sasori eyed his partner warily. "Can you even walk?" the blond shrugged. "I don't want you hurting yourself even more. Then it'll just be annoying to have to fix." Deidara pursed his lips again. Good to know his partner cared about his well being.

"I'll be fine, un," he said curtly, moving onto his feet much faster than he should have. Shapes danced in front of his vision, but he ignored them, insisting that he was perfectly fine. Sasori only shrugged before throwing his bag together.

"If you say so, brat. I'm not carrying you if you can't make it, though," the puppeteer informed him.

But, sure enough, Sasori found himself with the blond in his arms not even three hours into their trek back to the base. Deidara had his arms locked tightly around his partner's neck, head resting on the redhead's shoulder. "Thanks, un."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart, brat." He scowled and looked at his partner, who was smiling sheepishly. "The last thing I want to put up with is you bitching the entire trip back."

Deidara smirked. The redhead was so easy to manipulate. He was probably more than capable of walking, but a few coughs was all it took to get himself situated in his partner's arms. And even if Sasori did suspect that something was up, he didn't say anything.

Now that he was at least a hundred times more comfortable around Sasori, the blond found himself constantly wanting to be held by the older man. Although there was no specific reason, he managed to get his way. "Danna, are we almost back, un?" he inquired, moving his hand so he could brush some hair out of his face.

"We still have a few hours, brat." Sasori, on the other hand, was none too thrilled bout having to carry his partner all the way back to the base. Had it been a puppet, it would have been tedious, but necessary. Puppets, however, didn't speak, didn't squirm around, and most certainly did not breathe on the puppeteer's neck. "Start whining and I'm going to leave you here," Sasori growled, motioning to the landscape around them. At the moment, the two were in the middle of nowhere, no sign of civilization anywhere.

"Wasn't planning on it, un," Deidara mumbled, sighing heavily. Whether it was because he had to carry the blond or the stress from their mission, Sasori was in no mood to continue conversing with his partner. Every time the bomber started a conversation, he'd get a few short replies, followed by a silence that hung over them for most of the trip.

As soon as they reached the base, Deidara found himself on the ground in their room. The puppeteer practically bolted out of the room, presumably to fill out the mission report. Not bothering to move, the bomber found himself staring at the wall, halfheartedly playing with some clay until his partner returned. As soon as Sasori saw him, he froze. "Please don't tell me you've been sitting there the entire time."

Deidara shrugged. "Potentially, un."

"Have you nothing better to do with your time?" Sasori asked, frowning slightly. Had he been given that much free time, the redhead would have gotten plenty done. "Brat, I still can't believe you almost got yourself killed," he murmured, still somewhat dumbfounded by the whole thing.

The blond rolled his eyes. "I almost died because I was busy trying to save your sorry ass, un."

"Tried. If I'm recalling this correctly, you ended up failing miserably," Sasori shot back, pulling Deidara onto his feet. By now, he knew very well that his partner was capable of walking. "But hey, maybe that's just what I remember."

The blond had absolutely nothing to say in response. So instead of a verbal response, he gave Sasori a flat look and shook his head. "At least I knew what was about to happen."

"Which makes it even more pathetic. You could have ran."

"You would have gotten killed, un!"

"Not really. You didn't exactly get me to move," Sasori pointed out. Whether or not Deidara had decided to stay didn't make all that much of a difference. Either way, Sasori would have still been standing in the same spot, and the explosion would have attacked his body the same exact way.

Deidara scowled. "Well sorry for caring, un."

"Why did you even bother?" The blond considered using the same excuse Sasori always did; Pein would get pissed off if anything happened to either of the artists. But considering how much the puppeteer used it, he knew it wouldn't work. "Well?"

The bomber shrugged. "I didn't want you to die."

Sasori let out a short laugh, clamping his hands over his mouth in an attempt to silence himself. "That's ridiculous." As the redhead continued to laugh to himself, Deidara could feel his face burning. He didn't quite understand how it was out of the ordinary. "Are you blushing?" Sasori suddenly asked, freezing to stare at his partner.

"No, un!" the blond shouted, face turning even redder. "If anyone's going to kill you with an explosion, it's going to be me, un!"


	11. Chapter 10

"Brat, if you utter one more word, I'm going to poison the hell out of you." An all too familiar threat. Only once or twice had Sasori actually carried out with it, and the liquids were never enough to seriously harm the bomber. Pein's wrath usually kept him from trying anything too dangerous.

"Yeah, right. You'll have to put up with me when I'm completely out of it, un," Deidara shot back. The both of them knew that was true; if there was anything Sasori hated more, it was looking after his partner. He was an S-ranked criminal, not a babysitter.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "A few broken bones might help build some character, then..." he murmured, squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe if he kept it up, his partner would leave. But as the blond continued chattering, he realized it wasn't going to happen. "Must you be so loud?" Deidara had been talking for almost an hour nonstop, while the puppeteer was trying to sit outside and observe Mother Nature's works of art around him.

Somewhat hard to do with the brat talking his ear off.

"Danna, have you ever wished you could fly, un?" the bomber asked dreamily, looking up at a few birds soaring overhead. Something a child would ask. Why the hell did it matter if he could fly or not? Traveling on foot was perfectly acceptable. Not only that, but it was easier to hide when there was actually trees and bushes to duck behind.

The puppeteer shook his head. "I've been on those clay birds of yours enough to get an idea of what it'd be like. That's more than enough for me," Sasori replied with hopes that it might silence the younger Akatsuki member. That and whenever he was so high off of the ground, a feeling of nausea came over him. He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but if he were to guess, it was probably because his heart container couldn't handle such high altitudes while trying to support a wooden body.

And sure enough, Deidara shrugged before gently punching a handful of clay to get the air bubbles out of it.

When did he actually start yearning to hear the brat's voice? Whenever Deidara was actually around, he was wishing he would shut up. Why the hell did he actually miss the stupid brat?

Sasori shook his head and pulled himself onto the branch of a small oak tree. Even though just outside the Akatsuki base, the leaves were enough to conceal him. Almost every single one of his thoughts led him back to the bomber.

And now that he had been gone for almost a month, it seemed only natural that the opposite feelings would begin to arise. But why with such force? The blond hadn't managed to intertwine himself so deeply in the redhead's life...right? This idiot wasn't capable of something so destructive. Even Orochimaru couldn't pull off something of this caliber. With the snake-like man going on missions for months at a time, Sasori couldn't help but enjoy the silence in his room when he was gone.

Which, unfortunately, was because the two had never been more than teammates. Deidara somehow managed to convince the puppeteer to be his "friend", or whatever_that_ was supposed to mean.

Foolish relationships like that could only lead to weakness. Which was essentially what had happened to the redhead. Let Deidara come further into his life, only to find himself unable to deal with it when the idiot is gone.

_Letting myself get distracted by a boy more than ten years my junior...that's a new one..._Sasori grumbled silently. The wind blew at his faux hair, and he lifted his hand up to keep it from moving any more. Something needed to be done about this nonsense. And unfortunately, he couldn't do a single thing until Deidara got back.

Concluding that there was nothing better than a bit of puppet making to get his mind off of things, Sasori hopped out of the tree and rushed back to his office. A little bit of hard work wouldn't kill him.

Deidara set his cloak down as softly as he could manage; puppet or not, his partner still valued whatever sleep he could get. It took a tremendous amount of energy for his heart to work inside of a wooden body, and the redhead had explicitly stated his dislike for soldier pills. He was never exactly fond of too much energy.

The blond let his hair down and removed the scope from his eye. Having woken up from his rest a mere two hours ago, he couldn't bring himself to go back to sleep. He could have worked on some clay figurines, but if he so much as dropped it on the floor, he was sure Sasori would wake up. And after being gone for more than a month, he didn't want to face the puppeteer's wrath only minutes after returning.

Settling on laying down on his bed, Deidara stared at the ceiling, trying to make out as many dots as he could. After around two hundred, he glanced at Sasori's sleeping form. Even when he was unconscious, he still looked stressed out. And for a wooden body, that was impressive. It wasn't his face that gave of such a threatening aura; Even when he was angry, he always wore the same blank expression. Just the way he was always hunched over or completely stiff was what Deidara found most intimidating.

Hours passed, and the blond fell in and out of short naps, not really sure when he was awake or asleep. It wasn't until he heard shuffling on the other side of the room that Deidara forced himself fully into consciousness. Sitting up in bed, he found Sasori making his way across the room, acting as if he didn't even know his partner had returned. "Danna, un?" At the voice, the blond saw the older man very nearly jump out of his skin.

"When did you get back?" Deidara shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "You ran behind schedule."

"I got assigned a whole other mission, un!" the blond defended, folding his arms over his chest.

"And?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Sorry for not being as efficient as everyone else, danna, un," he sneered.

Sasori sighed. Great. Awake five minutes and the bomber was already pissed off. "I was worried about you. Quit throwing a fit, brat." At the words, Deidara's eyes widened. Sasori...worried?

The two words didn't exactly process right away. "Don't try to humor me, un," the blond mumbled. "I don't care that much, un." Actually, he _did_ care, but what was he supposed to do? Arguing with Sasori was a lost cause, and it would only end with the both of them infuriated.

"Brat, you're blushing."

"Shut up, un!"

"Oi, what's your problem?" Sasori inquired, striding across the room so he could look down at the younger Akatsuki member. He expected the inevitable "You, un," that always came after this question, and only rolled his eyes when Deidara spat at him. "How was your mission?"

The blond formed silent words for a moment before finally getting some of them out. "It was fine, un." Since when did the puppeteer care about what happened on his mission? Then again, after nearly getting blown to bits, he had every right to be keeping a closer eye on the younger boy.

"Good. The last thing I need is you losing a limb." By now, Deidara knew that was his partner's way of saying he was concerned for the bomber's well being. "Did you start the report yet?"

"Nah, un," the blond said with a shrug. Why bother? Pein wasn't going to notice if he didn't turn it in. He pulled himself into a sitting position before hopping off of the bed. He was going to need to make a few more clay bombs before the next mission.

"Fair enough." Deidara nodded and situated himself on the floor before pulling a handful of clay out of his desk. Thankfully, he had left some in there so he wouldn't have to go down to the river to get some.

A peaceful silence settled over the two until the bomber opened his mouth again. "Has anything happened since I left, un?" Just casual talk, really. Too much silence drove the younger boy insane.

"Not particularly." And in all honesty, he had barely been talking to the other Akatsuki members. Everyone save for himself was busy, whether it be missions or personal reasons.

Deidara shrugged and went back to his clay. Fifteen minutes of silent work and the blond was ready to go insane. What was he supposed to be doing now? A small voice inside of him screamed, begging for anything to happen. But instead of acting on it, he pushed the voice away and continued working.

Sasori opened a scroll he had been writing in before, but only got about two more words down before rolling it shut. Why couldn't he focus? The brat was back, and...not nearly as loud, for some reason. _He's probably embarrassed from that remark earlier..._With a sigh, he got up and walked across the room, casually sitting down next to the bomber.

And sure enough, Deidara began fidgeting. He was nervous, no doubt. After all, how many times had Sasori voluntarily come over if he didn't intend on scolding the blond?

"Danna, un?" Deidara finally murmured, deft hands forming a small clay bird as he spoke.

Sasori was curious, to put it simply; Deidara was freaking out whenever the puppeteer so much as got close to him. Why?

Unfortunately, he already had an idea of what was going on.

The redhead inhaled softly before resting his elbow on Deidara's shoulder, using him as a makeshift armrest. And sure enough, that threw the younger boy for a loop.

Eventually, Deidara laced his fingers with Sasori's, and the redhead tried to pretend he couldn't hear the sound of his partner's heart pounding frantically in his chest. He could say that the boy was scared, but it would just be an excuse to ignore what was really happening.

His idiot of a partner had a crush on him.

Did that still happen, even in the later teen years? Sasori honestly couldn't remember a time when he had been in love. Was such a thing possible? Relationships were for fools who had nothing better to do but gush over each other. How had this emotion managed to trap a feared S-ranked criminal.

Deidara's hand mouths licked at his own wooden hands, completely beyond the bomber's control. Was it just that he was feeling accepted? It was easy enough to confuse with a flustering crush, especially if the brat had spent most of his life being torn away from his dreams.

_What do you expect me to do?_ Sasori silently inquired, keeping his expression as bored as always. He enjoyed Deidara's company, he'd give him that much. The redhead definitely felt lonely when the kidiot wasn't around to bother him...but it meant absolutely nothing. Why did Deidara insist on doing this? He knew Sasori would see right through him, right?

"Danna, how did you turn yourself into a puppet, un?" What surprised Sasori more than the blond's sudden interest in his art was the question itself. How long had he even been thinking about it? Evidently long enough to get the courage to straight out ask the puppeteer.

"What's with the sudden interest, brat?" Deidara shrugged and grinned at him .Great, he was actually serious. When the blond didn't give any more of a reply, Sasori rolled his eyes and stared at his partner. "Essentially, I removed some vital organs like my brain, about half of my respiratory system, nerves, and anything used for movement or rational thought."

The blond shot him a strange look. This was about to be the part where he completely freaked out, not realizing that about half of Sasori's organs were missing. Instead, he furrowed his brow and frowned slightly. "You don't need to breathe, un?"

"Nope." Was that all the kid had to say? Sasori was impressed, to say the least.

Deidara paused for only a moment before asking his next question. "Can you feel my hands right now, un?" For only a second, the redhead could have sworn he had seen a hint of sadness on his partner's face.

"...No," Sasori murmured, regretting his answer as soon as he saw the blond's expression. Pretending he didn't notice, he let Deidara try to cover up the hurt with a slightly surprised look. What was he going to do about it now? His skin had been replaced by wood, and the only indication as to what was happening to him was via ears and eyes.

"Can you feel at all, un?" he inquired, left hand tightly grabbing hold of Sasori's. "Don't you miss being able to feel?" The blond gripped the hand tighter, until his own knuckles turned white.

"Not particularly," Sasori said with a shrug. "The only thing that can feel is my heart container."

Deidara rose a brow. Oh, here we go... "Heart container, un?" The blond paused for a moment to think. Was that the thing in his partner's chest? "Are you...but...but..."

"The only times people have gotten near it, I've been in pain. What's to miss?"

Sasori rolled his eyes. If he were to guess, Deidara was probably dying to see the blasted thing. Too curious for his own good. "Do you want to see it?" he wasn't about to let his guard down, but he could safely assume that he wasn't about to be murdered.

The bomber nodded vigorously. He moved Sasori's cloak out of the way, only staring at his wooden torso before extending hi hand to one of the only living parts of the redhead's body. Gingerly, he ran his index finger down the heart container. _Just like normal skin..._

"Careful, brat," Sasori warned. Right now, his body was telling him to get the blond off of him. After years of ignoring his biological organs, he was able to keep himself still. However, one wrong move would send Deidara flying across the room without a second to protect himself.

The bomber didn't reply, but rather, pushed down ever so slightly on the container's covering. His partner began grinding his teeth together, shifting his position in an attempt to tell Deidara to stop. "Careful!"

"At the frantic shout, Deidara jerked away, thoroughly startled by the sudden raise in voice. "Watch your nails, brat," Sasori hissed, hand clutched tightly over his organ container. The blond had never heard his danna so...frightened...and actually in pain.

"Sasori, I'm so sorry, un..." Deidara pulled himself up, more than ready for the redhead to start screaming at him. Terror brought an adrenaline rush, preparing himself for the imminent-

"It's all right...you didn't know," the puppeteer choked out through still clenched teeth. Wait...Sasori _wasn't_ about to shout at him? "It's...all right..." he repeated, now sounding like he was trying to reassure himself rather than his partner.

"Danna, are you okay, un?" he asked frantically, heart pounding even faster than before. The blond hadn't meant to harm him. He was just curious as to how the outside of Sasori's heart container worked. Upon deeper thought, however, it being extremely sensitive made sense. After all, there was probably only a small barrier between the outside world and Sasori's organs. The redhead nodded, but Deidara couldn't help but doubt it.

"If you ask me one more time, I'm going to snap your neck." Deidara rolled his eyes. Yup, his partner was perfectly fine. "Now tell me, Deidara; why was your heart beating so fast?" The blond's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I was nervous, un. I thought you were going to yell, un."

Sasori gave him a flat look. "Before that. You grabbed my hand, and your heart started going at _least_ three times faster than normal."

He was going to have to think of a pretty good lie to get out of this one.


	12. Chapter 11

Deidara cursed to himself for at least the thousandth time since his danna had asked. Only a minute or so had passed, but each second inched along as slowly as they pleased. Sasori stared, waiting for a response. What was he supposed to say? He knew the redhead well enough to know that telling the truth would only get him killed.

If Sasori was feeling particularly merciful, that is. The blond opened his mouth, but then shut it again. He didn't have the words he wanted. _Come on, you've lied before. It's not that hard, idiot._ But the damned truth was that it _was_. Sasori had caught him blushing. _Blushing_, of all things! _What's that got to say about how much of an S-ranked criminal you are?_ Deidara hissed to himself. _Falling head over heels for a _puppet_ that's a good one, Deidara. You're so funny sometimes, enough to crack yourself up._

"Brat..." Sasori warned, obviously getting impatient. Not that much time had actually passed, but it was long enough to tell that the blond was attempting to pull something together. Anything.

"I was just nervous, un. Scared." Well, if that wasn't the most pathetic lie he had ever told.

The redhead shot him a flat look. "Deidara, I've known you for over a year. And in that time, this is the first you've decided to blush because you were 'scared.' I already told you, I want the truth," the puppeteer demanded, frowning. He already knew, but was the blond aware of it?

Probably not. In fact, he probably had no clue. _Why else would he be stumbling over his words like a moron?_ Sasori mumbled to himself, observing his partner with his usual bored expression.

"Sasori, it was really nothing, un. Just let it go," Deidara begged, one visible blue eye widening ever so slightly. _Now_ he was scared. There was no way he was going to—_That's it!_

"Do tell, brat."

The bomber forced a smirk onto his face. Now, if he played this just right... "Unless you're _trying_ to make something out of it, un." Sasori rose a brow.

"Not particularly," the redhead mumbled back. _I just want you to stop acting like a fool about this._ "I just don't need you messing around. What if this happened during a mission, and you completely froze up?"

"I wouldn't, un," Deidara said with a shrug. _That could have gone so much better._

"If you say so." Sasori got up only to sit on the windowsill. "But as I've told you before; come and tell me when you're ready. I'll be waiting."

Deidara pursed his lips, stood up, and strode out of the room as casually as he could. As soon as the door shut, he broke into a run. _Fine, just tell me when you're ready, brat. I'll be waiting. Anytime you're ready. Don't bother rushing, 'cause I don't really care_. The words played in his head, dancing around and causing his head to throb. It wasn't until he made it into the living room of the base that he stopped to breathe. He stood there, taking in breath after shaky breath. The blond's face was red again, this time from the sudden burst of cardio rather than a childish crush.

"What, Sasori come after you with a knife again?" At the ever so familiar voice, Deidara turned to the couch to see Konan sitting and staring with an amused expression on her face.

He shook his head. "Nah, un," he murmured, taking a deep breath afterward. "I was just flustered is all, un." Could he have worded that any worse? Thankfully, she didn't seem to take it as anything out of the ordinary and just nodded at him.

"It's probably not too bad. I'm sure you'll be able to go back in a little while.

_Yeah, I wish. _"Hopefully, un. No big deal, though. We were both just a little stressed after a recent mission, un."

"You've been in the base for a week."

"...We've been really, _really_ stressed, un." _You're an idiot, Deidara_, he murmured to himself. She motioned for him to sit down, and he complied. He didn't mind talking to the girl, really. "How've you been, un?"

Konan shrugged. "Not too bad. Just making sure Pein doesn't hang himself before he finishes all the paperwork in there." Everyone knew the Akatsuki leader had the worst job out of all of them; going through mound upon mound of papers. Worst part? They never stopped piling.

Deidara let out a short laugh. "Good luck, un." 

The two sat in silence, either staring at their hands, the walls, or anything but each other. Sure, Konan was friendly, but the blond didn't talk to her nearly enough to have a long conversation. "How's it going with Sasori?"

Oh, the bomber could have died. Instead, he grinned and said "Pretty good, un. We're getting along a lot better than when I first got here." Yeah, in a sense. _So much better that you've been thinking about what it'd be like to suck face with him, eh?_

She nodded. "Good, good. I guess Pein calling you two into his office really did the trick." Deidara nodded. Sure, why not? "Hey, speaking of him, I might as well go make sure he's not dead, all right?" He nodded again. "Talk to you later, Deidara."

"See you, un."

As soon as the blue haired female left, he found himself staring blankly at the wall. He tried to think about what he was going to do, but ended up pushing the thoughts away. Really, he didn't _want_ to think about it. Deidara sighed and let his eyes droop shut. What did it matter? Sasori was going to get pissed at him either way, so why not just spill the beans.

_You're scared, Deidara. Scared like a little girl_. The thought was enough to horrify him. The blond _was_ scared. Terrified, actually. What was there to be afraid of? Deidara tried to tell himself that it was nothing, but it only worked for a moment. Around the time it took for every possible disaster to run through his head. There were trivial things, like the inevitable rejection, and the hatred that he'd no doubt see in the redhead's eyes.

What was truly terrifying was the thought that Sasori might laugh at him.

_Since when does something as trivial as that dictate your actions? You've been laughed at for years, _he told himself. But he hadn't loved a single person in Iwagakure. Deidara just didn't know how he'd react to it coming from his partner.

He sighed and curled up on the couch. No matter. He'd figure it out after he took a nap.

Deidara blinked his eyes open, finding the room just as empty as when he had fallen asleep. It seemed that not a single person had passed through, since nothing in the room had been shifted. And unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before his mind got back to his current situation.

_Face the dragon. Come on, just do it...you're going to make yourself sick pretty soon._ Oh, wasn't that the truth. The blond sighed and pulled himself onto his feet. Might as well get it over with. It was going to be bad...at the very least.

He made his way back to his room as slowly as possible, stopping to stare at anything interesting that decorated the walls or doors. A few people passed, but they didn't try to converse with him. Too busy with mission preparation.

Deidara pushed the door open. The redhead hadn't moved an inch from when he had stormed out. "Hey," the puppeteer greeted, not bothering to look up from his work.

"I'm ready, un."

Sasori rose a brow. "Are you?"

In all honesty, no. But this was the closest the blond was going to get. "Hell yeah, un," he said with a shaky grin. It must have been painfully obvious that he was nervous. Sasori pretended not to notice, and turned, looking straight at the bomber.

"Whenever you're ready."

_Tell me when you're ready. I'll be waiting. Just take you're time, no big deal_. The words rang in Deidara's head, but he ignored them the best he could, dimming them down to no more than an annoying whisper. "Of course, un." He took a deep breath, and looked at Sasori for only a second before his eyes darted away. _Stop acting like a damn teenage girl. _"You were right, I was blushing, un"

Sasori rose a brow. "And?" Of course he knew that. It would take an idiot not to notice.

"Because I like you, un," the blond spat out, words coming out in one big mess. It took Sasori a second to realize what he had said, still surprised even though he had seen it coming. Just hearing it out loud was enough to completely throw him off.

"Do you mean like a frie—"

"You know damned well what I mean, un," Deidara hissed, narrowing his eyes at the spot right above his partner's head. "Stop screwing around, un." If anything, someone needed to be saying that to _him_.

"I know."

Deidara blinked once, twice, three times. Still, it didn't make it any easier to understand. "You...what, un?"

The puppeteer rolled his eyes. "Do I need to repeat himself?" Thankfully, he had overcome the initial shock much quicker than he had expected. "I'm not an idiot."

"Then why did you make me say it, un?" Deidara practically screamed, throwing his hands out in front of him. Rather than answering him, Sasori pressed his hands against the outstretched palms. The blond didn't even try to pull away; he knew his partner wouldn't let him go. Instead, he laced his fingers with the wooden ones. "I was so scared, un."

"Of what?" Sasori asked, honestly surprised to hear this. He could understand if the bomber was afraid of doing something to the heart container, or getting yelled at for being an idiot, but this took the cake. "I really hope you're kidding."

Deidara shook his head. "I thought you'd laugh at me, un." He looked away. Oh yeah, the redhead was going to be pissed beyond belief now. "Sorry, un."

He still didn't show any signs of irritation, though. In fact, he didn't even bother to speak after Deidara. Sasori just stared, clutching the blond's hand tighter and tighter until he was almost positive it would break. When the bomber began trying to pull free, the grip only tightened. What was going on? 

Sasori opened his mouth, then shut it again. "You're joking, right?" he murmured, one hand shooting up to his partner's face. He forced the blond to look at him. "Right?"

It seemed like an eternity beforehand, but Deidara finally shook his head. "No..."

The two stared at each other, neither saying a word. The bomber because he was too afraid and Sasori because he was stuck in yet another state of shock and disbelief. Rather than giving him a verbal response, the puppeteer pulled Deidara forward, trapping him in a tight hug.

Deidara slipped one arm around his partner's torso, too skeptical to do anything else. Not until he was sure of the redhead's motives, anyway. "Danna, un?"

"Shush." Not a moment later, the blond felt something press against his neck, his cheek, and then his lips. It wasn't until he tasted smooth wood did he realize that Sasori was kissing him. His mind struggled to process what was going on before simply giving up and letting his body take over. His mouth worked against the puppeteers, letting go of any fear he had before.

The only thing he was aware of now was that Sasori was kissing him, and it felt absolutely wonderful. Skin or not, the pair of lips against his own worked just like any other human's would have. By the time the redhead pulled away, he was gasping for air.

"Danna, un," he repeated, staring with his eyes widened slightly at his partner.

Sasori shook his head, seized the blond by the front of his shirt, and pulled him into another kiss.


	13. Chapter 12

Sasori wasn't sure what to expect after embracing the blond's confession. Surely things would change, but he couldn't even begin to think of what. How they looked at each other? _No, that's dumb as hell_.

Maybe their actions. Nothing more, though. So what did being in a relationship do for the artists? Certainly not make anything easier. From the moment Deidara had begun to show signs in his partner, the redhead had been thrown completely out of whack. The bomber's affection caused nothing more than a few moments of just too deep thought or overanalyzation.

It wasn't until Deidara started blushing that the puppeteer was really freaked out. Paranoia, sickness, and even near emotional breakdowns.

And yet Sasori _still_ embraced the relationship. There wasn't anything particularly special he saw in the blond; just a high strung, obnoxious, bat-shit crazy criminal.

"Danna, aren't they a little close to the base, un?" Deidara asked, both peering out the window and completely interrupting the redhead's thoughts. His eyes were focused on a group of shadows not ten meters from the long red gate at the base's entrance.

_Smart enough to hide their bodies but too dumb to conceal the shadows._ "Don't worry about it, Dei," Sasori replied, resting his chin on the top of the bomber's head. There really was no reason to be concerned. They were probably no more than a couple of genin who had stumbled a bit too far from the local village.

Instead of immediately complying, the blond's lips cured into a frown. Finally, he twisted himself away from the window, adverting his gaze from the dancing shadows. His arms slinked around the puppeteer's torso, his hands grabbing at the fabric of his cloak.

"Why don't we go get something to eat?" Sasori suggested, pulling Deidara to his feet before he could protest. He knew the bomber well enough to realize this was going to bother him. And for good reason, too. The raids Iwagakure had been sending out were getting much closer to the base than both he and Pein would have liked. And with all of the trouble the artists had been causing, it was by no means a coincidence.

"_You should have seen how much ground that bomb covered, un! A full two hundred feet, and only with C2, un!" _

They had yet to eat anything that day, so it was a perfect opportunity to distract Deidara. The duo trudged down the hallway, reemerging in the kitchen, a good distance from the base's entrance. From here, they wouldn't be able to see anything but the forest. With all of the damage done from their training, any ninja that valued his life would turn back.

Deidara pulled a chair out and let himself collapse into it. Even while he was sitting there, the blond continued craning his neck so he could see as far out the window as possible. With the distance they were from their room, there was no way he was going to spot even a hint of the shadows. But he could always try, right?

"Brat, quit it," Sasori demanded, placing a bowl of rice in front of his boyfriend. Slowly, the blond took hold of the bowl, only taking a bite of the food when he wasn't trying to look out the window. "Seriously, stop."

Deidara sighed and pushed the food away. He already knew this was going to irritate the redhead, but as long as those ninjas were still outside the base, he wasn't going to be able to focus on eating. Not when their lives could be in danger. _You're overreacting. He's right, you know._ The bomber sighed. Was he? At this point, Iwagakure would stop at nothing to have his head, and he knew it. After all of the damage he had done since he left, the Tsuchikage was infuriated. As the kage's pupil, he wasn't supposed to go against the village. And he most certainly was _not_ supposed to run off and join Akatsuki.

"Sorry, danna," he apologized. The redhead scowled, but did nothing more. It wasn't worth it to yell at the kid at this point.

"Just calm down, there's nothing you need to be freaking out about," Sasori demanded once again, reaching over in mid sentence to grab hold of Deidara's hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze and ran his fingers over the lips of the bomber's hand mouths. The tongue almost immediately popped out and attacked the redhead's fingers, but he ignored it. "Besides, do you really think I'd let them kill you?"

"No, un..."

"Good. Finish your food."

Three days had passed, and Deidara _still_ couldn't get his mind off of it. Why were they even that close to the Akatsuki? If their intentions weren't violence, then what? It was extremely unlikely that anyone would stumble that far into the woods on accident. No matter what Sasori said to try and convince him, it didn't add up. _You're driving yourself crazy._ _If you don't stop it, you're going insane._ Implying that he wasn't already?

"Deidara, _please_ don't tell me you're still thinking about it," Sasori said in an exasperated tone. The blond was going to worry himself sick, and the last thing he wanted to put up with was an emotional breakdown. Especially one with no real reason behind it.

Instead of a verbal reply, Deidara shrugged and collapsed onto his bed. "Un," he grunted, burying his head in the sheets. The puppeteer sat next to him, tangling his wooden fingers in his boyfriend's hair. The blond rolled over so his body was pressing against Sasori's.

The redhead took this as a chance to fall back next to his partner and trap him in a kiss. Immediately, Deidara began to return the gesture, letting his hands wander up to the puppeteer's shoulders. Even against the faux skin, the feeling was still amazing. No matter how many times they kissed, he never got used to it.

Sasori broke away from him for only a moment before resuming their previous position. This time, however, his hands grabbed at Deidara's cloak, pulling him far closer than before. Their bodies crashed against one another, tangling like string. A deep blush scattered across the bomber's face, not even close to disappearing by the second time they broke apart.

"Still worried, Dei?" Sasori whispered, placing a series of gentle kisses on the blond's neck. His partner shivered, moving in closer to the puppeteer. Deidara shook his head, and he could feel the redhead smirk on his skin. How could he _possibly_ worry now? The only thing his mind was able to process was the feeling from Sasori's mouth against his skin.

Deidara seized a handful of his partner's hair, pulling him up so that he could plant yet another kiss on his lips. Unlike previously, the blond let his tongue slip into Sasori's mouth. The redhead paused for only a moment before responding. His hands drifted down towards the hem of Deidara's shirt, fingers playing with the fabric. Only a few times did his fingers brush against the blond's skin, and with each contact, he either pulled back slightly, or shuddered.

The blond's mind had completely shut down, ridding him of any thoughts pertaining to the trespassers. A few times he'd remember, but it didn't matter to him. Deidara was far too occupied with his boyfriend to bother worrying.

It wasn't until he was in bed later that night, just about pressed against the wall when he remembered the shadows. At this point, he was no longer frightened, but confused. From his own experience, getting to and from the Akatsuki base was _not_ an easy task.

_Quit thinking about it. No one was even there. You're so stupid._ While he did believe that, all he could do was push it aside long enough for him to fall asleep.

In the middle of the night, the blond was jerked awake by a tremendous crash, followed by several screams, and the sound of metal clashing with metal. He jerked up in bed, reaching for his clay. Instead of the pouch he was ever so familiar with, his hand closed around the fabric of his pants. Damn it, he had left it on his desk the night before!

Regardless, he hopped out of bed, stumbling for only a moment before regaining his composure.

"Deidara, what the hell?" At the sound of his partner's voice, said blond collapsed back onto the bed. If he had enough time to talk casually, they weren't under attack.

"Good, you got them, un," he gasped out, taking long, deep breaths to calm himself. As the bomber's eyes adjusted to the dark, he began to look around, only to find nothing on the ground, save for a pile of sheets that used to reside on his bed. Had Sasori already sealed their bodies in some kind of scroll? Damn, that was a lot faster than usual.

Instead of gratifying him with a reply, Sasori simply rose a brow. Wait, what? Got who? "What are you talking about, brat?"

Deidara blinked a few times. "The intruders, un."

The redhead laughed nervously and advanced forward, resting both hands on his partner's shoulders. "Dei, there are no intruders," he murmured softly, moving to brush a few strands of tangled hair out of the blond's face. This kid was really going insane. Where had the sudden streak of paranoia come from? Usually, it wasn't this bad

Deidara said nothing, but instead began shaking his head. Now extremely concerned, the puppeteer sat him down before sitting next to him. "Didn't one of the windows shatter, un?" he mumbled groggily, rubbing his head as if it would help him figure everything out. Instead, he just looked more confused.

The redhead sighed. No, there _hadn't_ been any noise. He had stayed up a bit later working on his puppets, but there hadn't been a single sound even then. "I've been sitting at my desk all night; nothing's happened," Sasori whispered, now rubbing the blond's back in a circular motion. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"

"But-"

"Dei, there's nothing to worry about," Sasori stated once again. The bomber blinked at him a few times, a shroud of grogginess and disbelief still hanging over him. Rather than trying to figure it out further, Deidara leaned forward and kissed the puppeteer on the cheek before sighing heavily.

"Okay, un," he murmured, and collapsed back into bed.

Once he had dozed off, Sasori got up and made his way back over to his puppets. That was by no means normal. Yes, he knew that Deidara was insane to the point of terrorizing himself. But he had never seen a situation so bad where the blond had begun hearing things and actually woke himself up from a deep sleep to attack said thing.

The redhead groaned softly and rested his head against a half made limb. What the hell was he supposed to do now?


	14. Chapter 13

Everything was perfectly fine. From the moment he woke up in the morning to the second he shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep, everything had been the same. There had been no hallucinations, and Deidara was certainly no more mentally unstable than any other day. In fact, he didn't believe he was unstable to begin with, rendering him perfectly fine and ready for everyday function. How could Sasori possibly see a problem if he was acting the same as always? The only difference was that he was hyperaware of everything around him. And being an S-ranked criminal wanted on every piece of land in the world, was that really a bad thing?

But while Deidara paced back and forth, wondering about how his partner could possibly be concerned, said redhead was outside, eyes shut and in a tree. The puppeteer needed more than a little bit of time to think. In fact, he needed days to sort everything out. Worst comes to worst, he'd consult Itachi or maybe Kakuzu about the problem. While it wasn't exactly becoming dangerous yet, what was going to happen when Pein sent them on a mission and Deidara ended up blowing their cover because he heard or saw someone that wasn't there?

Soon, the blond would be putting himself in life threatening situations. And for what? He was already in enough trouble. The last thing either of the artists needed to worry about was hallucinations. Sasori for a brief moment debated going back and confronting his partner once again, but decided against it. There was no way the bomber was going to listen to him. Not now, anyway.

But how much time was there? If he let this get out of hand, Deidara would start getting worse, and by the time a mission came along, he may end up being beyond help.

Yeah, he didn't have any time to waste.

Sasori groaned and hopped down from the tree. He wasn't exactly ecstatic about having to talk to the blond about this. Especially since the kid was bound to be difficult.

"Deidara!" the puppeteer called out as soon as he entered the base. No response. He rolled his eyes. Great. "Dei?" he called again, this time louder. Footsteps pounded down the hall, and the all too familiar blond popped out in front of him.

"Un?"

"We need to talk," Sasori began, and immediately regretted the word choice. His boyfriend's eyes widened, and his skin paled about ten shades.

"You're not breaking up with me, are you, un?"

"What? Why would I-"

"Don't you _dare_, un. I swear, if you-"

"Deidara!" Said bomber stopped talking and blinked a few times. "It has nothing to do with that," Sasori assured him, resting both hands on his shoulders.

"...Oh, un." Well, that was a relief. For a few seconds, he was terrified. After all, they really hadn't had any huge disagreements as of late.

"Are you feeling all right?" Sasori murmured, brushing a few strands of hair out of his boyfriend's face. Since his last attempt at starting this conversation had failed, it seemed like the simplest alternative. Deidara nodded almost immediately after. "Are you still hearing things?"

The bomber paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No. But I've been keeping watch, un."

The redhead sighed. "You really don't need to," he said, giving his boyfriend's shoulder a squeeze. "Everything'll be fine."

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Yeah, un. But what happens if there's really someone out there."

The puppeteer stayed silent for what felt like forever, before an idea popped into his head. "I took care of it."

"What, un? No you didn't."

"Remember when I was awake the other night?" Sasori reminded him. He had never been one for telling particularly good lies, but considering how gullible Deidara was, he didn't think it'd be too hard to convince him.

"Yeah, un. Why wouldn't I?" Deidara said with a nod.

"I took care of everything then. I just lied because I didn't want you to worry," the redhead explained.

The bomber blinked once, twice, then a few more times, as if he couldn't figure out what his partner had just said. He...took care of it? But he could have sworn they were running around, and...He shook his head. It didn't make sense anymore. And if his danna said he'd taken care of it...well, the puppeteer was never one to avoid a serious problem. "Really, un?" Why didn't Sasori just say that in the first place? After all, it _did_ kind of make sense.

_The mind believes what it wants,_ a small voice in his head tried to warn him. Deidara, however, pushed it away, ignoring it. That didn't apply to now.

"Yes," Sasori murmured, leaning forward to hug the blond.

"Well...I was getting ready to go food shopping for Konan. Do you wanna come with me, un?"

The puppeteer shook his head. "I'm all right. I need to help Pein out with something," he lied. Hey, if he could get away with one, might as well try and get a few more by. Deidara shrugged, rushed back into his room to grab a hunk of clay, and left.

As soon as his partner was gone, Sasori bolted to their room and locked it. Laughing nervously, he applauded himself for a job well done. Deidara didn't even suspect a thing! He couldn't believe he had cured the entire paranoia streak that easily.

_That's because you didn't_, he murmured to himself, but barely acknowledged the thought. What did that matter now? They'd make it through another mission, and come back to the base to live for a few more weeks, at least.

An hour later, Deidara still hadn't come back. It usually took twice that to go food shopping, and the puppeteer decided to walk around outside and wait for the blond's return. Outside, the huge structure in front stood untouched. Usually, when an idiot from the local village came by, they'd scrape something into the sides. Every time, Kakuzu would throw a fit over how much it would cost to repaint it.

Looking around, something darted in the corner of Sasori's eye, and he silently cursed. _What the hell?_ Spinning around on his heel, he grabbed a kunai and prepared for an attack. Nothing. He looked around, and didn't even sense a single bit of chakra.

Cautiously, the kunai returned to his pocket, clanging against the other weapons he had stored. Giving the area one more look, his eyes met a tree not twenty feet from the base. With large branches that extended far over the base, their shadows danced around on the water below.

Just like a human's would.

_Oh, you've got to be kidding me, _the redhead groaned silently. He quickly went back to the room, already knowing what he was going to see. Sure enough, when he looked out the window from Deidara's usual spot, the tree's branches would send shadows bouncing off of the lake. _All that trouble because of a damned tree..._

The door swung open behind him, and Sasori turned around as calmly as he could. "Hey, how was food shopping?"

Deidara shrugged, throwing himself against his partner. "Boring, un." 

"You volunteered to do it," the redhead reminded him. His hands automatically went into Deidara's hair, pulling out the few knots that had begun to form during the day.

"At least Konan appreciated it, un," he added, shrugging. "Remind me never to do that again."

"Of course." Both of them knew that two weeks from now, the same thing would happen, but neither of them brought it up. This scenario had happened so many times that Sasori could even predict what his boyfriend was going to say.

"There was a fight at the village, un," Deidara said softly, a small smirk crossing his face.

Sasori rose a brow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Two kids got into a huge brawl over something or other. Pretty funny, un," he explained in poor detail.

"Want to give me the specifics?"

"I dunno. There wasn't anything more than that, un," Deidara said with another shrug. Rolling his eyes, the redhead leaned forward and kissed next to his partner's mouth.

"Please?"

The blond rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Smirking, Sasori grabbed his partner and dragged him over to the windowsill to sit. As the bomber told his story, the puppeteer would every so often glance out the window to see if he could still see the shadows. There was no way he'd tell Deidara about that.


	15. Epilogue

Deidara never got better. Sasori wasn't surprised at the mood swings or paranoia any longer; it was natural to him. Dealing with his partner's insanity had become second nature to him, which surprised most of the other Akatsuki members. While they didn't particularly hate the blond, he was just...tough to deal with.

Thankfully, the bomber had never figured out about the shadows. In fact, once he heard that the "intruders" were taken care of, he seemed to forget all about it.

Three weeks later, he was sitting on top of the gate, tapping at the structure's top. Sasori sat next to him, watching the blond with a bored look on his face. They had been sitting there for nearly two hours, and his partner hadn't said a word. "Danna, when's our next mission, un?" he finally asked. For the first time in weeks, he was having trouble start a conversation. Where had that come from?

Sasori almost asked the blond if he was sick, but decided against it. "Tomorrow, I think."

"Okay, un."

Silence lapsed over the two artists again. Why was he having such a hard time talking all of a sudden. "Have you been working on anything new?"

The blond shook his head. "Not really. I just made some C3 bombs the other day, but nothing more than that, un," he explained quickly, not even looking up from the structure. His fingernails were beginning to chip away at the paint, but not enough to be extremely noticeable. There were a few slivers of red missing, but they were only the size of his fingernail tips.

Rolling his eyes, Sasori grabbed hold of his partner's chin, forcing the younger boy to look at him. He didn't bother to ask the boy if he was all right; he already knew the response he'd get. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed him. Immediately, he was given the response of a tongue brushing over his lips.

Maybe everything was fine, and maybe it wasn't. How was that any different from usual? The blond was always temperamental, almost always freaking out about something, or gushing like a teenaged girl.

Nothing out of the ordinary by now.

So Sasori pulled away and let his boyfriend continue tapping at the structure. Later, he'd definitely hear what was on the blond's mind. Now just wasn't the time. And if he pushed the bomber a bit too far, they'd just get into a vicious argument.

As patiently as he could, the redhead watched his partner continue his thinking, still in silence. That was all right; he could deal with some quiet for a little while. He stretched himself out and threw his legs over the side of the structure.

That kid had always been crazy anyway.


End file.
